Faculty

Dr. Colin Smith

Research Interests
My broad interests lie in molecular recognition. My current interest is molecular speciation, how distinct recognition strategies evolve from a common ancestor. Neutral theories of evolution contend that for any given genotype, there are enough single-site mutants of neutral fitness such that paths exist between genotypes with different phenotypes. By traversing intersecting paths, genetic drift can lead to new phenotypes. Complexes of arginine-rich peptides and small RNAs are structurally diverse, found mediating important regulatory events, and are attractive models of recognition. Computational modeling of evolving RNA secondary structures strongly supports neutral theories, where RNA sequences are genotypes and their secondary structures represent phenotypes. Whether the validity of neutral theories extends beyond the predictable phenotypes of RNA secondary structure to more complex phenotypes typically found in biological RNA is not obvious. I am using a two-plasmid lambda phage N-nut antitermination reporter system with homologous and heterologous peptide-RNA interactions to explore how recognition strategies may evolve.

CV

Research:
Publications


Courses:
BIOL 220
BIOL 223 Genetics
BIOL 324 Proteins Structure and Function
BIOL 330 Molecular Genetics
BIOL 331 Nucleic Acids Structure and Function
BIOL 334 Cellular Biophysics
BIOL 394 Seminar