Richard Southgate
Visiting Assistant Professor Emeritus, Adjunct Professor
Education
Ph.D. University of Geneva, SwitzerlandM.A. University of Geneva, Switzerland
B.S. University of Freiburg, Switzerland
Research Interests
Together with Dr. Agnes Southgate, I have worked on different aspects of insect flight, using comparative bioinformatics based on the “projectin” gene and protein sequences in different insect species. Some of the insect types examined so far include dragonflies, honey bees, moths, beetles, mosquitoes, aphids, lice, fruit flies, ants, etc. with the goal of determining what types of molecular, cellular, physiological, and protein changes and adaptations were used in various independent evolutionary attempts to master successful insect flight on Earth.
Courses Taught
BIOL 111: Introduction to Cell and Molecular BiologyBIOL 101: Concepts and Applications in Biology I
BIOL 102: Concepts and Applications in Biology II
BIOL 313: Cell Biology
BIOL 322: Developmental Biology
Honors & Awards
Visiting Assistant Professor Emeritus, College of Charleston 2023National Institute of Health (NIH) Grant, 2006-2007
National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant, 1999-2003
Swiss National Foundation for Scientific Research Exchange Fellow, 1985-1986
Selected Publications
Ayme-Southgate AJ, Crowe* M, and Southgate RJ. (2014). The NH2-terminal Ig domains of insect projectin could serve as protein elastic elements. J. Proteomics and Genome Research. 1, 21-33.
Ayme-Southgate AJ, Turner* L, and Southgate RJ. (2013). Molecular analysis of the muscle protein projectin in Lepidoptera. J Insect Sci.; 13:88 PubMed PMID: 24206568; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3835035.
Ayme-Southgate A, Philipp* RA, and Southgate RJ. (2011). The projectin PEVK domain, splicing variants and domain structure in basal and derived insects. J. Insect Mol. Biol. 20(3):347-356. PubMed PMID: 21349121.
Ayme-Southgate A, Southgate RJ, Philipp* RA, Sotka AA, and Kramp* C. (2008). The Myofibrillar Protein, Projectin, Is Highly Conserved Across Insect Evolution Except For Its PEVK Domain. J. Mol. Evol. 67(6):653-69. PMID: 18982379, PMCID: PMC2775928.
Ayme-Southgate A, Saide J, Southgate R, Bounaix* C, Camarato A, Patel S and Wussler C.* (2006). In Indirect Flight Muscles Drosophila, Projectin has a short PEVK domain, and its NH2- terminus is embedded at the Z-band. J. Muscle Cell Motility, 26, 467-477. PMID: 16465474.
Ayme-Southgate A and Southgate R. (2006). BOOK CHAPTER. Projectin, the elastic protein ofthe C-filaments. In “Nature’s versatile Engine: Insect Flight Muscle Inside andOut” Ed. Vigoreaux, J. Landes Bioscience Publishers. e-pub: 2004.
Ayme-Southgate A, Bounaix C*, Riebe T.E and Southgate R. (2004). Assembly of the Giant Protein Projectin During Myofibrillogenesis In Drosophila Indirect Flight Muscles. Bio Med Central Cell Biol. 5:17 (30 Apr 2004), open access: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471- 2121/5/17. PMID: 15119962, PMCID:PMC419972.
Southgate R and Ayme-Southgate A (2001). Alternative Splicing of an Amino-Terminal PEVK-like Region Generates Multiple Isoforms of Drosophila Projectin. J. Mol. Biol. 313, 1035- 1043. PMID: 11700060.
Daley J, Southgate R and Ayme-Southgate A. (1998). Structure of the Drosophila Projectin Protein: Isoforms and Implications for Projectin Assembly. J. Mol. Biol. 279, 201-210. PMID: 9636710.
Ayme-Southgate A, Southgate R, Saide J, Benian G and Pardue M.L. (1995). Both synchronous and asynchronous muscle isoforms of projectin (the Drosophila bent locus product) contain functional kinase domains. J. Cell Biol. 128, 393-403. PMID: 7844153, PMCID: PMC2120353.
Book ChapterAyme-Southgate A, Southgate R and Kulp-McEliece M. (2000). BOOK CHAPTER. Drosophila Projectin: A Look at Protein Structure and Sarcomeric Assembly. In “Elastic Filaments of the Cell”.pp 251-263. Eds Granzier & Pollack. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.