Robert Bruce Knox was Professor in the School of Botany, The University of Melbourne until his untimely death in1997. He was a renowned and innovative scientist, honoured by his election as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1989, Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology in 1990, and President of the International Association of Sexual Plant Reproductive Research from 1990 to 1994. He was a pioneer in the discovery of cell recognition mechanisms in the breeding and reproductive systems of flowering plants and made a major contribution to the understanding of how plants recognise self and non-self. He was one of the first people in the world to apply the techniques of immunochemistry and histochemistry to study plant development. His study of pollen led to the characterisation of proteins in the pollen cell wall, many of which are human allergens, and to the cloning of allergen genes. Bruce Knox left a legacy of people who trained as his postgraduate students or who worked in his laboratory as part of his research team, contributing significantly to subsequent generations of scientists. He was an enthusiast of the idea to publish an Australian focused biology text, and would have been proud to see Biology in its third edition.
