Dr Mike Roberts

Senior Lecturer

Research Overview

Research in my group focuses on the biology of plant stress responses. Using tomato and Arabidopsis as our main models, we study the regulation of responses to plant-insect and plant-pathogen interactions, as well as some aspects of abiotic stress. Our main current focus is on priming; the long-term 'memory' of plant stress and its impacts on future defence responses both within and between generations. We also work on the use of waste plant products as sources of defence-eliciting molecules for applications in crop protection.

More information is available from my lab web pages.

Administration

Mike has undertaken several key roles in management of LEC's delivery of UG teaching over the past decade. He currently acts as an Admissions Tutor and Chair of the FST Faculty Biological Safety, Health and Environment Committee.

Teaching

Mike’s main teaching includes:

a first year undergraduate module, 'Developmental Biology' delivered as part of the BSc degree schemes in Biology and Zoology
a second year undergraduate module, 'Environmental Physiology' delivered as part of the BSc degree schemes in Biology and Ecology & Conservation
a third year undergraduate module, 'Host-Parasite Interactions' delivered as part of the BSc degree schemes in Biology, Zoology and Ecology & Conservation
distance learning modules on 'Crop Biotechnology' and 'Plant Defence and Crop Protection' delivered as part of our Food Challenges for the 21st Century postgraduate programme.

Research Interests

Current research areas:

Long-term priming of plant defence responses

Mechanisms and applications of long-term priming of plant resistance to pests and diseases.
Trans-generational phenotypic plasticity.

Effects of the environment on plant stress responses

Interactions between ozone signalling and wound/herbivore responses in Arabidopsis.

Sustainable approaches to improved plant biotic and abiotic stress resistance

Novel seed treatments which provide long-lasting increases in resistance against disease and insect pests in crop plants. This research has led to successful commercialisation.
The development of novel combinations of bioactive compounds to enhance plant abiotic stress resistance.

These projects have been supported by ~£2 million external funding, including grants from BBSRC, Defra, NERC and industry.

Career Details

1988-1991: Department of Botany, University of Leicester. SERC/CASE PhD studentship

1991-1994: Department of Botany, University of Leicester. Post-doctoral Research Associate funded by an AFRC grant to Dr. R.J. Scott.

1994-1996: The Plant Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of York. Research Associate funded by a BBSRC ROPA award to Prof. D.J. Bowles.

1996-2001: The Plant Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of York. Royal Society University Research Fellowship.

2001-2004: Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University. Royal Society University Research Fellowship.

2004-2008: Department of Biological Sciences, Lancaster University. Lecturer in Plant Science.

2008-2012: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University. Lecturer in Plant Science.

2012-present: Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University. Senior Lecturer in Plant Science.

PhD Supervision Interests

Transgenerational defence priming in plants. Crop protection methods based on defence priming. Effects of biotic interactions on seed dormancy.

Selected Publications

Developmentally regulated generation of a systemic signal for long‐lasting defence priming in tomato
Stevens, K., Roberts, M.R., Jeynes‐Cupper, K., Majeed, L., Pastor, V., Catoni, M., Luna, E. 28/02/2025 In: New Phytologist. 245, 3, p. 1145-1157. 13 p.
Journal article

Costs and Benefits of Transgenerational Induced Resistance in Arabidopsis
Sánchez, A.L., Pascual-Pardo, D., Furci, L., Roberts, M.R., Ton, J. 26/02/2021 In: Frontiers in Plant Science. 12
Journal article

Long-Lasting Defence Priming by β-Aminobutyric Acid in Tomato Is Marked by Genome-Wide Changes in DNA Methylation
Catoni, M., Alvarez-Venegas, R., Worrall, D., Holroyd, G., Barraza, A., Luna, E., Ton, J., Roberts, M. 15/04/2022 In: Frontiers in Plant Science. 13 p.
Journal article

Jasmonic acid-dependent regulation of seed dormancy following maternal herbivory in Arabidopsis
Singh, P., Dave, A., Vaistij, F., Worrall, D., Holroyd, G.H., Wells, J., Kaminski, F., Graham, I., Roberts, M.R. 06/2017 In: New Phytologist. 214, 4, p. 1702-1711. 10 p.
Journal article

Treating seeds with activators of plant defence generates long-lasting priming of resistance to pests and pathogens.
Worrall, D., Holroyd, G.H., Moore, J.P., Glowacz, M., Croft, P., Taylor, J.E., Paul, N.D., Roberts, M.R. 02/2012 In: New Phytologist. 193, 3, p. 770-778. 9 p.
Journal article

Next generation systemic acquired resistance
Luna, E., Bruce, T., Roberts, M., Flors, V., Ton, J. 02/2012 In: Plant Physiology. 158, 2, p. 844-853. 10 p.
Journal article

Priming tree seed for stress resilience
01/12/2023 → 27/03/2025
Research
Integrating membrane processes into hydroponics systems to promote plant growth, recover added-value root exudates and recycle nutrients
01/03/2023 → 30/04/2024
Research
Can we reduce food waste in the supply chain from farm to fork?
01/10/2019 → 30/09/2023
Research
High throughput technologies for the efficient downstream processing of Recombinant proteins for production of low-cost rapid diagnostic kits
01/10/2019 → 31/03/2023
Research
High throughput technologies for the efficient downstream processing of Recombinant proteins for production of low-cost rapid diagnostic kits
01/10/2019 → 30/09/2023
Research
Impacts of seed priming on seed dormancy in temperate region tree species
01/10/2019 → 30/09/2020
Research
N8: Exploring DNA-Nanoparticle Conjugates for Convenient Point-of-Use Detection of Plant Fungal Pathogens
05/11/2018 → 04/11/2019
Research
Assessing the long-term impacts of plant activator compounds on disease resistance and crop productivity
01/10/2018 → 30/09/2022
Research
Maternal priming of seeds for enhanced pest and disease resistance
01/10/2018 → 30/09/2022
Research
Plant protection products from tomato waste
19/02/2018 → 18/08/2018
Research
Understanding the environmental contexts for the commercialisation of a novel microbial pesticide
01/11/2015 → 30/04/2016
Research
Reducing pesticide inputs and improving crop production under environmental stress by using seed treatments to prime plant defences.
01/10/2015 → 30/09/2019
Research
Transgenerational immune priming in plants
01/09/2014 → 31/12/2017
Research
Mechanisms of plant defence priming using seed treatments
01/12/2009 → 30/11/2012
Research
2001 BBSRC project grant Release of organic acid to the rhizosphere: a role for anion channels. £209, 216
01/01/1900 → …
Research

Seed priming as a tool for enhancing germination and stress tolerance
Invited talk

Long-term priming of plant defence: Memories of stress within and between generations.
Invited talk

Biology Taster Session
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar

Biomedical and Life Sciences (Organisational unit)
Member of Advisory Panel

Future Zoo
Public Lecture/ Debate/Seminar

James Sims
Hosting an academic visitor

IOBC-WPRS PR-IR 2022: Priming the Future for Healthy Plants
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

University of Essex (External organisation)
Member of Advisory Panel

University College Cork
Visiting an external academic institution

FST Taster Day
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Long-lasting priming by β-aminobutyric acid is marked by de novo DNA hypomethylation
Invited talk

Exploiting Plant Induced Resistanceas a Route to Sustainable Crop Protection
Invited talk

Exploiting Plant Induced Resistance as a Route to Sustainable Crop Protection
Invited talk

Maternal and transgenerational impacts of biotic stress
Invited talk

Lancashire Farmer Network AGM
Oral presentation

South Lakes Federation Science teachers conference
Business Course/Training

Self-defence for tomatoes. Harnessing tomato waste for protection against pests and disease.
Invited talk

VISCEA Plant Biotic Stresses & Resistance Mechanisms III, Vienna, Austria
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

ISMPP International Conference on Plant Health for Human Welfare
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

N8 AgriFood 2017 International Sustainable Food Production Conference
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

FST Taster Day
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

N8 Crop Innovation Pipeline Workshop
Participation in workshop, seminar, course

Long-term consequences of plant biotic stress
Invited talk

Guguletho Makatini
Hosting a Student (PhD)

South Lakes Federation Science teachers conference
Business Course/Training

Raul Alvarez-Venegas
Hosting an academic visitor

GARNet 2016
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

FST Taster Day
Types of Public engagement and outreach - Festival/Exhibition

Association of Applied Biologists Knowledge Exchange Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

XVI Congress on Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Long-term priming of plant defence
Invited talk

BBSRC (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Priming defences against pests and disease
Invited talk

Seed treatments using natural products prime crop defences against pests and disease.
Invited talk

SEB Annual Main Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Long-term priming of plant defence by seed treatments
Invited talk

Monsanto Global Seed Technology Symposium
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Mahjabeen Panhwar
Hosting a Student (PhD)

3rd International Workshop on the Molecular Aspects of Seed Dormancy and Germination
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (External organisation)
Membership of committee

European Union (External organisation)
Membership of committee

International Symposium on Microbial Technologies for Sustainable Agriculture
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Society for Experimental Biology (External organisation)
Membership of committee

SEB Annual Main Meeting
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Plant Methods (Journal)
Editorial activity

Society for Experimental Biology (External organisation)
Membership of committee

Visiting research fellowship
Types of Business and Community - Hosting of external, non-academic visitor

SEB Plant Development Group meeting, “Protein-protein interactions in plant development.”
Participation in conference -Mixed Audience

Staff Prize for Commercialisation
Prize (including medals and awards)

University Research Fellowship
Fellowship awarded competitively

Eduardo Zelada Lau

PhD student

Plant and Crop Science

enable JavaScript to view email address

Improving global stewardship
Innovation for a better environment
Plant and Crop Science

Back to listing

Contact Details

Lancaster Environment Centre
Office: B33, B - Floor, LEC 3
enable JavaScript to view email address

Back to listing