My colleague David Wilkie, who has died aged 89, was an authority on the genetics of mitochondria, the organelles that generate most of a cell's energy. In the early 1960s, the idea that cell structures such as mitochondria possessed genes that play a role in cell metabolism and inheritance was highly controversial. Using the excellent genetics of yeast, David established that not only did such genes exist, but also that they were linked together on a small mitochondrial "chromosome". What had started as a risky – even foolhardy – venture established David's research for the next 30 years (he often described himself as a "mitochondriac"). From the 1970s his focus turned to the role of mitochondria in cancer; in particular as targets for chemotherapy.
David was an extraordinary and endearing character. He was born in Paisley, and went to school there at St Mirin's Academy. At Glasgow University, he played football for Queen's Park, having previously represented Scotland as a schoolboy. David's botany studies were interrupted in 1942 when, at the age of just 19, he volunteered for service in the RAF. Following training on Spitfires in South Africa, David was transferred to Burma where he flew Hurricanes in the war against Japan.
After the war he remained in the far east, where he flew Dakotas and DC3s and helped evacuate prisoners of war from the infamous Changi prison. During this period David was the personal pilot to Air Officer Commanding RAF Burma, Hugh Saunders (later Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders). Pilot Officer Wilkie returned to Scotland in December 1946 saying that he had flown every day for four years and never wanted to fly again. He never did.
In 1954 David was appointed to a lectureship in the Department of Botany, University College London, where he remained until his retirement as professor in 1988. At UCL David was a much loved undergraduate teacher, a kind and generous mentor to postgraduate students and a patient and meticulous examiner. At student gatherings, he needed little encouragement to lead the assembled throng in a chorus of "She'll be coming round the mountain" on the mouth organ, no doubt a memento of the RAF years.
David was a distinguished scientist, a fine sportsman, a proud Scot, a loving husband and a devoted father. He is survived by his wife Moreen, whom he married in 1948, their younger daughter Louise, and three granddaughters, Amber, Clementine and Jordane. His elder daughter, Alice, predeceased him.