Dr Robert Griffiths

Professor in Environmental Microbiology

Contact info

Rob Griffiths is an environmental microbiologist whose research focuses on understanding the "natural" and human associated drivers of microbial biodiversity, and understanding the role of microbiomes in environmental health. He uses molecular, biogeochemical and data-driven approaches to uncover fundamental ecological processes operating on microbial communities and impacting functional outcomes.

  1. 2000
  2. Rapid Method for Coextraction of DNA and RNA from Natural Environments for Analysis of Ribosomal DNA- and rRNA-Based Microbial Community Composition

    I., G. R., S., W. A., G., O. A. & J., B. M., Dec 2000, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 66, 12, p. 5488-5491 4 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  3. 2002
  4. RNA Stable Isotope Probing, a Novel Means of Linking Microbial Community Function to Phylogeny

    Mike, M., S., W. A., I., G. R. & J., B. M., Nov 2002, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 68, 11, p. 5367-5373 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  5. 2003
  6. Influence of depth and sampling time on bacterial community structure in an upland grassland soil

    Griffiths, R. I., Whiteley, A. S., O'Donnell, A. G. & Bailey, M. J., Feb 2003, In: Fems Microbiology Ecology. 43, 1, p. 35-43 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  7. Analysis of the microbial functional diversity within water-stressed soil communities by flow cytometric analysis and CTC+ cell sorting

    Whiteley, A. S., Griffiths, R. I. & Bailey, M. J., Aug 2003, In: Journal of Microbiological Methods. 54, 2, p. 257-267 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  8. Physiological and Community Responses of Established Grassland Bacterial Populations to Water Stress

    I., G. R., S., W. A., G., O. A. & J., B. M., Dec 2003, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 69, 12, p. 6961-6968 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  9. 2004
  10. Raman Microscopic Analysis of Single Microbial Cells: Analytical Chemistry

    Huang, W. E., Griffiths, R. I., Thompson, I. P., Bailey, M. J. & Whiteley, A. S., 2004, In: Analytical Chemistry. 76, 15, p. 4452-4458 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  11. 13CO2 pulse labelling of plants in tandem with stable isotope probing: methodological considerations for examining microbial function in the rhizosphere

    Griffiths, R. I., Manefield, M., Ostle, N., McNamara, N., O'Donnell, A. G., Bailey, M. J. & Whiteley, A. S., Jul 2004, In: Journal of Microbiological Methods. 58, 1, p. 119-129 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  12. 2005
  13. Functional and compositional comparison of two activated sludge communities remediating coking effluent

    Manefield, M., Griffiths, R. I., Leigh, M. B., Fisher, R. & Whiteley, A. S., 25 Feb 2005, In: Environmental Microbiology. 7, 5, p. 715-722 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  14. 2006
  15. Detection of active bacterial populations in soil

    Timms-Wilson, T. M., Griffiths, R., Whiteley, A. S. & Bailey, M. J., 2006, Modern Soil Microbiology. van Elsas, J. D., Trevors, J. T., Jansson, J. K. & Nannipieri, P. (eds.). 2nd ed. CRC Press

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  16. Stable Isotope Probing: A Critique of Its Role in Linking Phylogeny and Function

    Manefield, M., Griffiths, R., Bailey, M. J. & Whiteley, A. S., 2006, Nucleic Acids and Proteins in Soil. Nannipieri, P. & Smalla, K. (eds.). Springer, p. 205-216

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  17. The functions and components of the Sourhope soil microbiota

    Griffiths, R. I., Bailey, M. J., McNamara, N. P. & Whiteley, A. S., Sept 2006, In: Applied Soil Ecology. 33, 2, p. 114-126 13 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  18. 2007
  19. Insights into the fate of a 13C labelled phenol pulse for stable isotope probing (SIP) experiments

    Manefield, M., Griffiths, R., McNamara, N. P., Sleep, D., Ostle, N. & Whiteley, A., May 2007, In: Journal of Microbiological Methods. 69, 2, p. 340-344 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  20. Raman-FISH: combining stable-isotope Raman spectroscopy and fluorescence in situ hybridization for the single cell analysis of identity and function

    Huang, W. E., Stoecker, K., Griffiths, R., Newbold, L., Daims, H., Whiteley, A. S. & Wagner, M., 15 Jun 2007, In: Environmental Microbiology. 9, 8, p. 1878-1889 12 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  21. The sensitivity of a forest soil microbial community to acute gamma-irradiation

    McNamara, N. P., Griffiths, R. I., Tabouret, A., Beresford, N. A., Bailey, M. J. & Whiteley, A. S., Oct 2007, In: Applied Soil Ecology. 37, 1, p. 1-9 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  22. 2008
  23. Ecological consequences of ingestion of Bacillus cereus on Bacillus thuringiensis infections and on the gut flora of a lepidopteran host

    Raymond, B., Lijek, R. S., Griffiths, R. I. & Bonsall, M. B., Sept 2008, In: Journal of Invertebrate Pathology. 99, 1, p. 103-111 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  24. 2009
  25. Microbial biodiversity and ecosystem functioning under controlled conditions and in the wild: Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective

    Bell, T., Gessner, M. O., Griffiths, R. I., McLaren, J. R., Morin, P. J., van der Heijden, M., van der Putten, W. H., Naeem, S. (Editor), Bunker, D. E. (Editor), Hector, A. (Editor), Loreau, M. (Editor) & Perrings, C. (Editor), Jul 2009, Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic . Oxford University Press USA, p. 121-133

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

  26. Local Adaptation of Bacteriophages to Their Bacterial Hosts in Soil

    Vos, M., Birkett, P. J., Birch, E., Griffiths, R. I. & Buckling, A., 14 Aug 2009, In: Science. 325, 5942, p. 833 1 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  27. Vegetation Affects the Relative Abundances of Dominant Soil Bacterial Taxa and Soil Respiration Rates in an Upland Grassland Soil

    Thomson, B. C., Ostle, N., McNamara, N., Bailey, M. J., Whiteley, A. S. & Griffiths, R. I., 25 Aug 2009, In: Microbial Ecology. 59, 2, p. 335-343 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  28. 2010
  29. Protists have divergent effects on bacterial diversity along a productivity gradient

    Bell, T., Bonsall, M. B., Buckling, A., Whiteley, A. S., Goodall, T. & Griffiths, R. I., 10 Mar 2010, In: Biology letters. 6, 5, p. 639-642 4 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  30. Field scale molecular analysis for the monitoring of bacterial community structures during on-site diesel bioremediation

    Ciric, L., Griffiths, R. I., Philp, J. C. & Whiteley, A. S., Jul 2010, In: Bioresource technology . 101, 14, p. 5235-5241 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  31. Effects of sieving, drying and rewetting upon soil bacterial community structure and respiration rates

    Thomson, B. C., Ostle, N. J., McNamara, N. P., Whiteley, A. S. & Griffiths, R. I., Oct 2010, In: Journal of Microbiological Methods. 83, 1, p. 69-73 5 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  32. Closely related protist strains have different grazing impacts on natural bacterial communities

    Glücksman, E., Bell, T., Griffiths, R. I. & Bass, D., 3 Dec 2010, In: Environmental Microbiology. 12, 12, p. 3105-3113 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  33. 2011
  34. The bacterial biogeography of British soils

    Griffiths, R. I., Thomson, B. C., James, P., Bell, T., Bailey, M. & Whiteley, A. S., 20 Apr 2011, In: Environmental Microbiology. 13, 6, p. 1642-1654 13 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  35. Niche specialization of terrestrial archaeal ammonia oxidizers

    Gubry-Rangin, C., Hai, B., Quince, C., Engel, M., Thomson, B. C., James, P., Schloter, M., Griffiths, R. I., Prosser, J. I. & Nicol, G. W., 8 Dec 2011, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108, 52, p. 21206-21211 6 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  36. 2012
  37. Evaluation of the ISO Standard 11063 DNA Extraction Procedure for Assessing Soil Microbial Abundance and Community Structure

    Plassart, P., Terrat, S., Thomson, B., Griffiths, R., Dequiedt, S., Lelievre, M., Regnier, T., Nowak, V., Mark, B., Lemanceau, P., Bispo, A., Chabbi, A., Maron, P.-A., Mougel, C. & Ranjard, L., 11 Sept 2012, In: PLoS ONE. 7, 9, p. 1-8 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  38. 2013
  39. Plant soil interactions alter carbon cycling in an upland grassland soil

    Thomson, B., Ostle, N., McNamara, N., Oakley, S., Whiteley, A., Bailey, M. & Griffiths, R., 10 Sept 2013, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 4

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  40. 2015
  41. Vegetation exerts a greater control on litter decomposition than climate warming in peatlands

    Ward, S. E., Orwin, K. H., Ostle, N. J., Briones, M. J. I., Thomson, B. C., Griffiths, R. I., Oakley, S., Quirk, H. & Bardgett, R. D., 1 Jan 2015, In: Ecology. 96, 1, p. 113-123 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  42. Catchment-scale biogeography of riverine bacterioplankton

    Read, D. S., Gweon, H. S., Bowes, M. J., Newbold, L. K., Field, D., Bailey, M. J. & Griffiths, R. I., Feb 2015, In: The ISME Journal. 9, 2, p. 516-526 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  43. Plant diversity increases soil microbial activity and soil carbon storage

    Lange, M., Eisenhauer, N., Sierra, C. A., Bessler, H., Engels, C., Griffiths, R. I., Mellado-Vázquez, P. G., Malik, A. A., Roy, J., Scheu, S., Steinbeiss, S., Thomson, B. C., Trumbore, S. E. & Gleixner, G., 7 Apr 2015, In: Nature Communications. 6, 1, 6707.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  44. Rhizosphere bacterial carbon turnover is higher in nucleic acids than membrane lipids: implications for understanding soil carbon cycling

    Malik, A. A., Dannert, H., Griffiths, R. I., Thomson, B. C. & Gleixner, G., 9 Apr 2015, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 6

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  45. PIPITS: an automated pipeline for analyses of fungal internal transcribed spacer sequences from the Illumina sequencing platform

    Gweon, H. S., Oliver, A., Taylor, J., Booth, T., Gibbs, M., Read, D. S., Griffiths, R. I. & Schonrogge, K., 22 Apr 2015, In: Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 6, 8, p. 973-980 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  46. Mapping natural capital: optimising the use of national scale datasets

    Henrys, P. A., Bee, E. J., Watkins, J. W., Smith, N. A. & Griffiths, R. I., Jun 2015, In: Ecography. 38, 6, p. 632-638 7 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  47. Soil conditions and land use intensification effects on soil microbial communities across a range of European field sites

    Thomson, B. C., Tisserant, E., Plassart, P., Uroz, S., Griffiths, R. I., Hannula, S. E., Buée, M., Mougel, C., Ranjard, L., Veen, J. A. V., Martin, F., Bailey, M. J. & Lemanceau, P., Sept 2015, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 88, p. 403-413 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  48. Biogeochemical cycles and biodiversity as key drivers of ecosystem services provided by soils

    Smith, P., Cotrufo, M. F., Rumpel, C., Paustian, K., Kuikman, P. J., Elliott, J. A., McDowell, R., Griffiths, R. I., Asakawa, S., Bustamante, M., House, J. I., Sobocká, J., Harper, R., Pan, G., West, P. C., Gerber, J. S., Clark, J. M., Adhya, T., Scholes, R. J. & Scholes, M. C., 19 Nov 2015, In: SOIL. 1, 2, p. 665-685 21 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  49. 2016
  50. A method of establishing a transect for biodiversity and ecosystem function monitoring across Europe: Soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions across Europe: A transect covering variations in bio-geographical zones, land use and soil properties

    Stone, D., Blomkvist, P., Hendriksen, N. B., Bonkowski, M., Jørgensen, H. B., Carvalho, F., Dunbar, M. B., Gardi, C., Geisen, S., Griffiths, R., Hug, A. S., Jensen, J., Laudon, H., Mendes, S., Morais, P. V., Orgiazzi, A., Plassart, P., Römbke, J., Rutgers, M., Schmelz, R. M., Sousa, J. P., Steenbergen, E., Suhadolc, M., Winding, A., Zupan, M., Lemanceau, P. & Creamer, R. E., Jan 2016, In: Applied Soil Ecology. 97, p. 3-11 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  51. Ecological network analysis reveals the inter-connection between soil biodiversity and ecosystem function as affected by land use across Europe: Soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions across Europe: A transect covering variations in bio-geographical zones, land use and soil properties

    Creamer, R. E., Hannula, S. E., Leeuwen, J. P. V., Stone, D., Rutgers, M., Schmelz, R. M., Ruiter, P. C. D., Hendriksen, N. B., Bolger, T., Bouffaud, M. L., Buee, M., Carvalho, F., Costa, D., Dirilgen, T., Francisco, R., Griffiths, B. S., Griffiths, R., Martin, F., Silva, P. M. D., Mendes, S., Morais, P. V., Pereira, C., Philippot, L., Plassart, P., Redecker, D., Römbke, J., Sousa, J. P., Wouterse, M. & Lemanceau, P., Jan 2016, In: Applied Soil Ecology. 97, p. 112-124 13 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  52. Mapping and validating predictions of soil bacterial biodiversity using European and national scale datasets: Soil biodiversity and ecosystem functions across Europe: A transect covering variations in bio-geographical zones, land use and soil properties

    Griffiths, R. I., Thomson, B. C., Plassart, P., Gweon, H. S., Stone, D., Creamer, R. E., Lemanceau, P. & Bailey, M. J., Jan 2016, In: Applied Soil Ecology. 97, p. 61-68 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  53. Differences in soil micro-eukaryotic communities over soil pH gradients are strongly driven by parasites and saprotrophs

    Dupont, A. Ö. C., Griffiths, R. I., Bell, T. & Bass, D., 15 Jan 2016, In: Environmental Microbiology. 18, 6, p. 2010-2024 15 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  54. Global change pressures on soils from land use and management

    Smith, P., House, J. I., Bustamante, M., Sobocká, J., Harper, R., Pan, G., West, P. C., Clark, J. M., Adhya, T., Rumpel, C., Paustian, K., Kuikman, P., Cotrufo, M. F., Elliott, J. A., McDowell, R., Griffiths, R. I., Asakawa, S., Bondeau, A., Jain, A. K., Meersmans, J. & Pugh, T. A. M., Mar 2016, In: Global Change Biology. 22, 3, p. 1008-1028 21 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  55. Soil Fungal:Bacterial Ratios Are Linked to Altered Carbon Cycling

    Malik, A. A., Chowdhury, S., Schlager, V., Oliver, A., Puissant, J., Vazquez, P. G. M., Jehmlich, N., von Bergen, M., Griffiths, R. I. & Gleixner, G., 9 Aug 2016, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 7

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  56. Selecting cost effective and policy-relevant biological indicators for European monitoring of soil biodiversity and ecosystem function

    Griffiths, B. S., Römbke, J., Schmelz, R. M., Scheffczyk, A., Faber, J. H., Bloem, J., Pérès, G., Cluzeau, D., Chabbi, A., Suhadolc, M., Sousa, J. P., Martins da Silva, P., Carvalho, F., Mendes, S., Morais, P., Francisco, R., Pereira, C., Bonkowski, M., Geisen, S., Bardgett, R. D., de Vries, F. T., Bolger, T., Dirilgen, T., Schmidt, O., Winding, A., Hendriksen, N. B., Johansen, A., Philippot, L., Plassart, P., Bru, D., Thomson, B., Griffiths, R. I., Bailey, M. J., Keith, A., Rutgers, M., Mulder, C., Hannula, S. E., Creamer, R. & Stone, D., Oct 2016, In: Ecological Indicators. 69, p. 213-223 11 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  57. 2017
  58. Soil networks become more connected and take up more carbon as nature restoration progresses

    Morriën, E., Hannula, S. E., Snoek, L. B., Helmsing, N. R., Zweers, H., de Hollander, M., Soto, R. L., Bouffaud, M.-L., Buée, M., Dimmers, W., Duyts, H., Geisen, S., Girlanda, M., Griffiths, R. I., Jørgensen, H.-B., Jensen, J., Plassart, P., Redecker, D., Schmelz, R. M., Schmidt, O., Thomson, B. C., Tisserant, E., Uroz, S., Winding, A., Bailey, M. J., Bonkowski, M., Faber, J. H., Martin, F., Lemanceau, P., de Boer, W., van Veen, J. A. & van der Putten, W. H., 8 Feb 2017, In: Nature Communications. 8, 1, 14349.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  59. Legacy effects of drought on plant–soil feedbacks and plant–plant interactions

    Kaisermann, A., de Vries, F. T., Griffiths, R. I. & Bardgett, R. D., 16 Jun 2017, In: New Phytologist. 215, 4, p. 1413-1424 12 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  60. Bacterial Physiological Adaptations to Contrasting Edaphic Conditions Identified Using Landscape Scale Metagenomics

    A., M. A., C., T. B., S., W. A., Mark, B. & I., G. R., 5 Jul 2017, In: mBio. 8, 4

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  61. 2018
  62. Published

    Detecting macroecological patterns in bacterial communities across independent studies of global soils

    Ramirez, K. S., Knight, C. G., Hollander, M., Brearley, F. Q., Constantinides, B., Cotton, T. E. A., Creer, S., Crowther, T. W., Davison, J., Delgado-Baquerizo, M., Dorrepaal, E., Elliott, D. R., Fox, G., Griffiths, R., Hale, C., Hartman, K., Houlden, A., Jones, D., Krab, E. J., Maestre, F. T., McGuire, K. L., Monteux, S., Orr, C. H., van der Putten, W. H., Roberts, I. S., Robinson, D., Rocca, J., Rowntree, J., Schlaeppi, K., Shepherd, M., Singh, B. K., Straathof, A., Talbot, J. M., Thion, C., van der Heijden, M. & de Vries, F. T., 2018, In: Nature Microbiology. 3, p. 189-196 8 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  63. Soil bacterial networks are less stable under drought than fungal networks

    de Vries, F. T., Griffiths, R. I., Bailey, M., Craig, H., Girlanda, M., Gweon, H. S., Hallin, S., Kaisermann, A., Keith, A. M., Kretzschmar, M., Lemanceau, P., Lumini, E., Mason, K. E., Oliver, A., Ostle, N., Prosser, J. I., Thion, C., Thomson, B. & Bardgett, R. D., 2 Aug 2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 1

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  64. Seasonality alters drivers of soil enzyme activity in subalpine grassland soil undergoing climate change

    Puissant, J., Jassey, V. E. J., Mills, R. T. E., Robroek, B. J. M., Gavazov, K., De Danieli, S., Spiegelberger, T., Griffiths, R., Buttler, A., Brun, J.-J. & Cécillon, L., Sept 2018, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 124, p. 266-274 9 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  65. Land use driven change in soil pH affects microbial carbon cycling processes

    Malik, A. A., Puissant, J., Buckeridge, K. M., Goodall, T., Jehmlich, N., Chowdhury, S., Gweon, H. S., Peyton, J. M., Mason, K. E., van Agtmaal, M., Blaud, A., Clark, I. M., Whitaker, J., Pywell, R. F., Ostle, N., Gleixner, G. & Griffiths, R. I., 4 Sept 2018, In: Nature Communications. 9, 1, 3591.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  66. 2019
  67. Soil parameters, land use, and geographical distance drive soil bacterial communities along a European transect

    Plassart, P., Prévost-Bouré, N. C., Uroz, S., Dequiedt, S., Stone, D., Creamer, R., Griffiths, R. I., Bailey, M. J., Ranjard, L. & Lemanceau, P., 24 Jan 2019, In: Scientific Reports. 9, 1, 605.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

  68. Published

    Divergent national-scale trends of microbial and animal biodiversity revealed across diverse temperate soil ecosystems

    George, P., Lallias, D., Creer, S., Seaton, F., Kenny, J. G., Eccles, R. M., Griffiths, R., Lebron, I., Emmett, B., Robinson, D. & Jones, D. L., 7 Mar 2019, In: Nature Communications. 10, 1, p. 1107 1107.

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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