Bernard B. Rees Ph.D, University of Colorado, 1992

POSITIONS AVAILABLE IN MY LABORATORY
Post Doc, Graduate Student, Research Assistant II

The general focus of my laboratory is how animals respond, at the physiological and biochemical levels, to changing environmental conditions. Within this broad area, I am particularly interested in energy metabolism and how it is affected by changes in particular ecological variables, such as oxygen availability, salinity, relative humidity and temperature. A related area of interest is mechanisms of metabolic control, especially the regulation of enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism.

Current work in my laboratory aims to understand how aquatic animals deal with hypoxia (low oxygen). Hypoxia is a significant problem in aquatic habitats worldwide, and it is especially pronounced in the coastal waters of Louisiana. This research examines the physiological, biochemical and molecular responses of a local estuarine fish, Fundulus grandis, to low oxygen. The central question of this research is, "Does this organism tolerate hypoxia due to beneficial changes in pathways of energy metabolism?" We have examined a variety of enzymes involved in both aerobic and anaerobic metabolic pathways in an effort to reveal patterns of enzyme change that might allow this fish to survive during exposure to hypoxia. One direction this project has taken is to assess the role of oxygen-dependent gene expression in mediating these changes.

My previous research has likewise determined the physiological and biochemical adjustments of animals to potentially stressful environments, whether it is the response of land snails to desiccation or that of brine shrimp embryos to the lack of oxygen. In these studies, I have attempted to integrate the responses at the biochemical, cellular and organismal levels and to interpret these responses in light of naturally-occurring environmental conditions. Consequently, the approaches taken in my laboratory span physiological ecology, organismal physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. In addition, as the eminent physiologist August Krogh noted, for any particular biological question, there is an animal that is particularly well suited for study. Hence, my research utilizes a variety of animals according to the questions being addressed.

The goal of this collective research effort has been to describe ways in which animals deal with particular ecological changes. These studies may help us better understand tolerance to such changes at the organismal level. Information on the physiological and biochemical bases of organismal tolerances can provide insights into species distributions in nature. It is hoped that such information can help to provide a foundation for rational management and conservation of species whose habitats are being adversely impacted by human activity.

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• Love, J.W., and Rees, B.B. 2002. Seasonal differences in hypoxia tolerance in gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis (Fundulidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes. 63: 103-115.
• Rees, B.B., Bowman, J.A.L., and Schulte, P.M. 2001. Structure and sequence conservation of a putative hypoxia responsive element in the lactate dehydrogenase-B gene in Fundulus. Biological Bulletin, 200: 247-251.
• Rees, B.B., Sudradjat, F., and Love, J.W. 2001. Acclimation to hypoxia increases survival time of zebrafish, Danio rerio, during lethal hypoxia. Journal of Experimental Zoology 289: 266-272.
• Virani, N.A., and Rees, B.B. 2000. Oxygen consumption, blood lactate and inter-individual variation in the gulf killifish, Fundulus grandis, during hypoxia and recovery. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A 126: 397-405.
  
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• Rees, B.B. 1998. An analog of hypoxia inducible factor-1 in the fish, Fundulus grandis. American Zoologist, 38: 46A.


• Rees, B.B., Schulte, P.M., Callicott, K.A., and Powers, D.A. 1997. A putative hypoxia responsive element in the lactate dehydrogenase gene of Fundulus. American Zoologist, 37: 145A.
• Rees, B.B., Swezey, R.R., Kibak, H., and Epel, D. 1996. The regulation of the pentose phosphate shunt at fertilization of sea urchin eggs. Invertebrate Reproduction and Development, 30:123-134.
• Rees, B.B. and Hand, S.C. 1993. Biochemical correlates of estivation tolerance in the Mountainsnail Oreohelix (Pulmonata: Oreohelicidae), Biological Bulletin 184: 230-242.
• Rees, B.B. and Hand, S.C. 1991. Regulation of glycolysis in theland snail Oreohelix during estivation and artificialhypercapnia.Journal of Comparative Physiology B 161:237-246.
• Rees, B.B. and Hand, S.C. 1990. Heat dissipation, gas exchange andacid-base balance in the land snail Oreohelix duringshort-termestivation. Journal of Experimental Biology 152: 77-92.
• Rees, B.B., Ropson, I.J., and Hand, S.C. 1989. Kinetic propertiesof hexokinase under near physiological conditions: relation tometabolic arrest in Artemia embryos during anoxia. Journal ofBiological Chemistry 264: 15410-15417.
  
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