My father, Renton Righelato, who has died aged 79, was a microbiologist and conservationist who worked to protect threatened environments around the world.
Born in Mitcham, London, to shopkeepers, Lilian (nee Beard) and Enzo Righelato, Renton attended a local grammar school, and went on to study microbiology at Bristol University. He excelled in his field and, in the mid 1970s, became head of research and development at Tate & Lyle, where he worked on food preservation and freshness.
