Department of Biology

Framingham State College

Dr. Richard Beckwitt

Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology

Environmental Science

Marine Biology

Research Methods I

Research Methods II

B.A. Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, 1970

Ph.D. Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 1979

Professor of Biology

Office:  Hemenway Hall 518

Phone:  508-626-4791

E-mail:  rbeckwitt@framingham.edu

Office Hours, Spring 2010  MWRF, 10:30  and by appointment.

       I teach Marine Biology, Environmental Science, Research Methods, and participate in the general biology courses.  I am interested in marine biology, population genetics and molecular evolution.  I have also consulted for a number of years at the U.S. Army, Natick Labs, on the molecular evolution and genetic engineering of spider silk and antimicrobial peptides.  Currently, I am working on the biochemistry and anti-oxidant properties of foods.

Selected  Publications: 

Beckwitt, R. and R. Chakraborty. 1980.  Genetic structure of Pileolaria  pseudomilitaris (Polychaeta:  Spirorbidae).  Genetics 96:711-726. 

Beckwitt, R.  1985.  Population genetics of the sand crab, Emerita analoga Stimpson, in southern California.  J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 91:45-52.

Beckwitt, R. and S. Aoyagi. 1987.  Mitochondrial DNA sequence variation in domesticated goldfish, Carassius auratus.   Copeia 1987:219-222.

Beckwitt, R. and S. Arcidiacono.  1994.  Sequence conservation in the C-terminal region of spider silk proteins (spidroin) from Nephila clavipes (Tetragnathidae) and Araneus bicentenarius (Araneidae).  J. Biol. Chem.  269:6661-6663.

Ramirez, M.G. and R. Beckwitt.  1995.  Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the spider genus Lutica (Araneae, Zodariidae).  J. Arachnol.  23:177-193.

Beckwitt, R., S. Arcidiacono and R. Stote.  1998.  Evolution of repetitive proteins:  spider silks from Nephila clavipes (Tetragnathidae) and Araneus bicentenarius (Araneidae). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 28:121-130.

Beckwitt, R., J. Shea, D. Osborne, S. Kreuger and W. Barklow.  2002.  A PCR-based method for sex identification in Hippopotamus amphibius.  African Zoology 37:127-130.

K. M. Morin, S. Arcidiacono, R. Beckwitt and C. M. Mello.  2006.  Recombinant expression of indolicidin concatamers in Escherichia coli.  Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 70(6):698-704.