Donald W. Roberts (January 20, 1933 – May 2, 2021) was an American insect pathologist and one of the originators of that field. He was especially known for research into

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, whether pest animals such as insects and mites, weeds, or pathogens affecting animals or plants by using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or ot ...

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) or lepidopterans is an order (biology), order of winged insects which includes butterflies and moths. About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera have been described, representing 10% of the total described species of living organ ...

by ''

Metarhizium ''Metarhizium'' is a genus (biology), genus of entomopathogenic fungus, entomopathogenic fungi in the family Clavicipitaceae. With the advent of genetic profiling, placing these fungi in proper taxa has now become possible. Most turn out to be ...

'' but also ''

Beauveria bassiana ''Beauveria bassiana'' is a fungus that grows naturally in soils throughout the world and acts as a parasite on various arthropod species, causing white muscardine disease; it thus belongs to the group of entomopathogenic fungi. It is used as a ...

''. He was a Research Professor Emeritus in the Biology Department of Utah State University.

Early life and education

Born in Phoenix, Arizona, US, in 1933. He earned his bachelor's degree in

Zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

, minoring in

Botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...

, from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1957. He received his master's degree in

Entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

, minor in

Mycology Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungus, fungi, including their Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, genetics, biochemistry, biochemical properties, and ethnomycology, use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, Edible ...

, from

Iowa State University Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricult ...

in 1959. He earned his PhD in 1964 from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

on the then-named ''Metarhizium anisopliae'' (now '' M. robertsii'', see below) and its application as a biological control of Lepidoptera.

Postdoctoral career

In 1965, Roberts was hired as an Assistant Rank Insect Pathologist by the Boyce Thompson Plant Research Institute. ''

Helicoverpa armigera ''Helicoverpa armigera'' is a species of Lepidoptera in the family Noctuidae. It is known as the cotton bollworm, corn earworm, Old World (African) bollworm, or scarce bordered straw (the lattermost in the UK, where it is a migrant). The larvae ...

'' was spreading and invading several countries around the world in 1976, when he was sponsored by the

Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The foundation was created by Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller (" ...

and the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

(NSF) to test a

nuclear polyhedrosis virus ''Baculoviridae'' is a family of viruses. Arthropods, among the most studied being Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and Diptera, serve as natural hosts. Currently, 85 species are placed in this family, assigned to four genera. Baculoviruses are known t ...

in India. When that was completed in 1978 he then traveled to work for the

Brazilian government The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...

on fungal controls of pasture

spittlebug The superfamily Cercopoidea, some members of which are called froghoppers and still others known as spittlebugs, are a group of hemipteran insects in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha. Adults are capable of jumping many times their height and length ...

s. That lasted until 1981. In 1980 Roberts founded the Insect Pathology Resources Center at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Roberts then went back to work for Boyce when the IPRC became part of Boyce. Roberts collected fungal pathogens of ''

Nilaparvata lugens The brown planthopper (BPH), ''Nilaparvata lugens'' (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is a planthopper species that feeds on rice plants (''Oryza sativa'' L.). These insects are among the most important pests of rice, which is the major staple cro ...

'' in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

in 1984. Roberts was a frequent collaborator of Raymond J. St. Leger, who was also chosen to give the

Society for Invertebrate Pathology The ''Journal of Invertebrate Pathology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing research on the induction and pathogenesis of diseases of invertebrates, owned by Academic Press (part of Elsevier). The journal publishes the results of ph ...

's ''Founders Lecture'' in his honor in 2009.

Awards and honors

1978 US

US/India Exchange Scientist 1985 Fulbright Senior Research Scholarship to the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, Australia :: University of Sydney Thomas Lawrence Pawlett Scholarship 19861988 The Society for Invertebrate Pathology Vice President :: Entomological Society of America, Eastern Branch CIBA-GEICY Recognition Award 19881990 The Society for Invertebrate Pathology President 1989 ESA-EB L.O. Howard Distinguished Achievement Award 1996 Boyce Thompson Institute made Roy A. Young Scientist Emeritus :: Entomological Society of Brazil (Sociedade Brasileira de Entomologia) honorary membership and recognition award 1996 Society for Invertebrate Pathology Founders' Lecturer on

Agostino Bassi Agostino Bassi, sometimes called de Lodi (25 September 1773 – 8 February 1856), was an Italian entomologist. He preceded Louis Pasteur in the discovery that microorganisms can be the cause of disease (the germ theory of disease). He discovere ...

who had been retired for some time 2009 Society for Invertebrate Pathology Founders' Honoree award, and Founders' Lecture on his career given by his friend and longtime collaborator R. St. Leger

Patronymic taxa

The species he has become associated with more than any other the former ''M. anisopliae'' was renamed '' Metarhizium robertsii'' in recognition of his vast contributions.

Personal life and death

Roberts and his wife, Mae, had two children. He died on May 2, 2021, at the age of 88.

Selected bibliography

* Ph.D. dissertation, 1964: :* :* * * *

AGRIS AGRIS is the Food and Agriculture Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' (FAO) International System for Agricultural Science and Technology, a global public domain database with structured bibliographical records on ...

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INIST The Institut de l'information scientifique et technique, or INIST () is the CNRS centre of documentation located in France. It has as mission to collect, treat and diffuse results of scientific and technical research. The INIST produces three bi ...

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Donald W. 1933 births 2021 deaths 20th-century American scientists 21st-century American scientists American lepidopterists Biological pest control Brigham Young University alumni Iowa State University alumni Society for Invertebrate Pathology American entomologists American pathologists Insect pathologists University of California, Berkeley alumni Utah State University faculty Place of death missing People from Phoenix, Arizona