• Ph.D. 1990, Texas Tech University
• M.S. 1983, University of California, Davis
• B.S. 1980, University of California, Davis

My research focuses on how plants produce the specialized cells that make up wood and various plant fibers. These cells, which transport water and mineral nutrients in the plant vascular system, have cell walls consisting of cellulose microfibrils. The pattern of cellulose microfibril deposition in these cell walls affects not only the physiology and stress tolerance of plants, but also the physical and chemical properties of raw materials obtained from plant vascular tissues, including wood, paper, and other plant fibers. Cellulose is synthesized by ‘terminal complexes’ that move in the cell membrane as they spin out microfibrils. Thus, understanding the pattern of cellulose deposition is largely a matter of understanding how the movement of these terminal complexes is directed. Most recently I have tried to elucidate this process by focusing on the evolution of the genes coding for one component of terminal complexes, the cellulose synthase enzyme (CesA).

Ongoing projects include:

Cloning, sequencing and characterization of the expression patterns of CesA genes from organisms representing various stages in the evolution of plant vascular tissue. These organisms include green algae, which completely lack specialized tissues; mosses, which have a primitive type of vascular tissue; and ferns, which represent the most primitive group of plants with true vascular tissue.

Identification of the domains within the CesA protein that are involved in assembly of the terminal complex and interaction with associated proteins by comparing the CesA genes of species of algae in which the terminal complexes are organized in various ways.

Investigation of the role of the cytoskeleton in coordinating cell expansion and patterned secondary cell wall deposition using a plant cell culture system (xylogenic mesophyll suspension from Zinnia elegans L.) that models these processes.

• Moller, I., Sørensen, I., Bernal,A.J., Blaukopf, C., Lee, K., Øbro, J., Pettolino, F., Roberts, A.W., Mikkelsen, J.D., Knox, J.P., Bacic, A., Willats, W.G.T. (2007) High-throughput mapping of cell-wall polymers within and between plants using novel microarrays. The Plant Journal 50:1118-1128


• Roberts, A.W., Roberts, E.M. (2007) Evolution of the cellulose synthase (CesA) gene family: insights from algae and seedless plants. In: Cellulose: Molecular and Structural Biology, R. M. Brown, Jr. and I. M. Saxena, eds. Springer, Berlin, pp. 17-34


• Liepman, A.H., Nairn, C.J., Willats, W.G.T., Sørensen, I., Roberts, A.W., Keegstra, K. (2007) Functional genomic analysis supports conservation of function among CslA gene family members and suggests diverse roles of mannans in plants. Plant Physiology 143:1881-1893.


• Roberts, A. W., Bushoven, J.T. (2006) The cellulose synthase (CESA) gene superfamily of the moss Physcomitrella patens. Plant Molecular Biology 63:207-219


• Roberts, A. W., Frost, A. O., Roberts, E. M., Haigler, C. H. 2004. Roles of microtubules and cellulose microfibril assembly in the localization of secondary cell wall deposition in developing tracheary elements. Protoplasma 224:217-229


• Roberts, A. W., Roberts, E. M. 2004. Cellulose synthase (CesA) genes in algae and seedless plants. Cellulose 11:419-435


• Roberts, A. W., Roberts, E. M., Delmer, D. P. 2002. Cellulose synthase (CesA) genes in the green alga Mesotaenium caldariorum. Eukaryotic Cell 1:847-855