Professor Antony Bacic’s major contribution is in understanding the structure and biology of complex carbohydrates. This group of molecules is fundamental to recognition and regulation in biological systems. His input to work on arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) led to cloning of the protein backbone and then to an entire gene family. These AGPs are present in all plant tissues and his work created tools to examine their function. A whole new filed of research was opened. Other major contributions are the synthesis of polysaccharides characteristic of grasses, antigens of the human parasite Leishmania and gums from red algae.