Professor James McDonald
Honorary Professor

Contact info
James McDonald is Professor of microbial ecology at Bangor University.
Current research themes include microbiome analysis of biomass-degrading microorganisms for biofuels and biotechnology, high-throughput methods for the detection of human pathogens in aquatic environments, and microbiome analysis of the complex tree disease, Acute Oak Decline.
His group applies a combination of microbiological culture techniques and contemporary ‘omics’ technologies (e.g. genomics, metagenomics, metatranscriptomics and metaproteomics) to address these research themes.
Location: 2nd Floor ECW Building
Tel: +44 (0)1248 383077
Personal webpage: https://www.jamesmcdonaldlab.com/
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Evaluating agar-plating and dilution-to-extinction isolation methods for generating oak-associated microbial culture collections
Ordonez Ordonez, A., Hussain, U., Cambon, M., Golyshin, P., Downie, J. & McDonald, J., 11 Feb 2025, In: ISME Communications. 5, 1, ycaf019.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Decay rates of faecal indicator bacteria from sewage and ovine faeces in brackish and freshwater microcosms with contrasting suspended particulate matter concentrations
Perkins, T. L., Perrow, K. A., Rajko-Nenow, P., Jago, C. F., Jones, D. L., Malham, S. K. & McDonald, J. E., 1 Dec 2016, In: Science of the Total Environment. 572, p. 1645-1652Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Sediment Composition Influences Spatial Variation in the Abundance of Human Pathogen Indicator Bacteria within an Estuarine Environment
Perkins, T. L., Clements, K., Baas, J. H., Jago, C. F., Jones, D. L., Malham, S. K. & McDonald, J. E., 14 Nov 2014, In: PLoS ONE. 9, 11Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Using a systematic approach to synthesize existing knowledge on Gymnopus fusipes ( syn . Collybia fusipes ), the cause of Collybia root rot
Pettifor, B., McDonald, J. & Denman, S., Oct 2022, In: Forest Pathology. 52, 5, p. 1 - 14 e12766.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
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Bacterial biota of forest trees
Pettifor, B. & McDonald, J., Aug 2021, Forest Microbiology: Tree Microbiome: Phyllosphere, Endosphere and Rhizosphere. Asiegbu, F. O. & Kovalchuk, A. (eds.). 1 ed. Academic Press, Elsevier, Vol. 1. p. 161 - 173 12 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review
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Survival of Brenneria goodwinii and Gibbsiella quercinecans, Associated with Acute Oak Decline, in Rainwater and Forest Soil
Pettifor, B. J., Doonan, J., Denman, S. & McDonald, J., Mar 2020, In: Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 43, 2Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Subtle shifts in microbial communities occur alongside the release of carbon induced by drought and rewetting in contrasting peatland ecosystems
Potter, C., Freeman, C., Golyshin, P., Ackerman, G., Fenner, N., McDonald, J., Ehbair, A., Jones, T., Murphy, L. & Creer, S., Sept 2017, In: Scientific Reports. 7, 11314.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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The Fibrobacteres: an Important Phylum of Cellulose-Degrading Bacteria
Ransom-Jones, E., Jones, D., McCarthy, A. J. & McDonald, J. E., Feb 2012, In: Microbial Ecology. 63, 2, p. 267-281Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Distribution and diversity of members of the bacterial phylum Fibrobacteres in environments where cellulose degradation occurs
Ransom-Jones, E., Jones, D. L., Edwards, A. & McDonald, J. E., 17 Jul 2014, In: Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 37, 7, p. 502-509Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Lignocellulose-Degrading Microbial Communities in Landfill Sites Represent a Repository of Unexplored Biomass- Degrading Diversity Emma
Ransom-Jones, E., McCarthy, A., Haldenby, S., Doonan, J. & McDonald, J., Aug 2017, In: mSphere. 2, 4, e00300.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Draft Genome Sequence of Clostridium sp. strain W14A isolated from a cellulose-degrading biofilm in a landfill leachate microcosm
Ransom-Jones, E. & McDonald, J., 22 Sept 2016, In: Genome Announcements. 4, 5, e0098516.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Using chemical, microbial and fluorescence techniques to understand contaminant sources and pathways to wetlands in a conservation site
Rhymes, J. M., Rhymes, J., Jones, L., Lapworth, D. J., White, D., Fenner, N., McDonald, J. E. & Perkins, T. L., 20 Jan 2015, In: Science of the Total Environment. 511, p. 703-710Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Impact of climate change on UK estuaries: A review of past trends and potential projections
Robins, P. E., Skov, M. W., Lewis, M. J., Gimenez, L., Davies, A. G., Malham, S. K., Neill, S. P., McDonald, J. E., Whitton, T. A., Jackson, S. E. & Jago, C. F., 17 Dec 2015, In: Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 169, p. 119-135Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Developing Skills in Second Year Biological Science Undergraduates
Robinson, R. L. & McDonald, J. E., 1 Jul 2014, In: Bioscience Education. 22, 1, p. 42-53Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Development and validation of a qPCR-based method for quantifying Shiga toxin-encoding and other lambdoid bacteriophages.
Rooks, D. J., Yan, Y., McDonald, J. E., Woodward, M. J., McCarthy, A. J. & Allison, H. E., 1 May 2010, In: Environmental Microbiology. 12, 5, p. 1194-1204Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Metagenomic approaches to the discovery of cellulases
Rooks, D. J., McDonald, J. E. & McCarthy, A. J., 2012, In: Methods in Enzymology. 510, p. 375-94 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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454-pyrosequencing: a molecular battiscope for freshwater viral ecology
Rooks, D. J., Smith, D. L., McDonald, J. E., Woodward, M. J., McCarthy, A. J. & Allison, H. E., 21 Jul 2010, In: Genes. 1, 2, p. 210-26 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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E. coli Is a Poor End-Product Criterion for Assessing the General Microbial Risk Posed From Consuming Norovirus Contaminated Shellfish
Sharp, J. H., Clements, K., Diggens, M., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K. & Jones, D. L., 19 Feb 2021, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 12, p. 608888Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity
Thompson, L. R., Sanders, J. G., McDonald, D., Amir, A., Ladau, J., Locey, K. J., Prill, R. J., Tripathi, A., Gibbons, S. M., Ackermann, G., Navas-Molina, J. A., Janssen, S., Kopylova, E., Vazquez-Baeza, Y., Gonzalez, A., Morton, J. T., Mirarab, S., Xu, Z. Z., Jiang, L., Haroon, M. F., Kanbar, J., Zhu, Q., Song, S. J., Kosciolek, T., Bokulich, N. A., Lefler, J., Brislawn, C. J., Humphrey, G., Owens, S. M., Hampton-Marcell, J., Berg-Lyons, D., McKenzie, V., Fierer, N., Fuhrman, J. A., Clauset, A., Stevens, R. L., Shade, A., Pollard, K. S., Goodwin, K. D., Jansson, J. K., Gilbert, J. A., Knight, R., Agosto Rivera, J. L., Al-Moosawi, L., Alverdy, J., Amato, K. R., Andras, J., Angenent, L. T., Antonopoulos, D. A., Apprill, A., Armitage, D., Ballantine, K., Bárta, J., Baum, J. K., Berry, A., Bhatnagar, A., Bhatnagar, M., Biddle, J. F., Bittner, L., Boldgiv, B., Bottos, E., Boyer, D. M., Braun, J., Brazelton, W., Brearley, F. Q., Campbell, A. H., Caporaso, J. G., Cardona, C., Carroll, J., Cary, S. C., Casper, B. B., Charles, T. C., Chu, H., Claar, D. C., Clark, R. G., Clayton, J. B., Clemente, J. C., Cochran, A., Coleman, M. L., Collins, G., Colwel, R. R., Contreras, M., Crary, B. B., Creer, S., Cristol, D. A., Crump, B. C., Cui, D., Daly, S. E., Davalos, L., Dawson, R. D., Defazio, J., Delsuc, F., Dionisi, H. M., Dominguez-Bello, M. G., Dowell, R., Dubinsky, E. A., Dunn, P. O., Ercolini, D., Espinoza, R. E., Ezenwa, V., Fenner, N., Findlay, H. S., Fleming, I. D., Fogliano, V., Forsman, A., Freeman, C., Friedman, E. S., Galindo, G., Garcia, L., Garcia-Amado, M. A., Garshelis, D., Gasser, R. B., Gerdts, G., Gibson, M. K., Gifford, I., Gill, R. T., Giray, T., Gittel, A., Golyshin, P., Gong, D., Grossart, H.-P., Guyton, K., Haig, S.-J., Hale, V., Hall, R. S., Hallam, S. J., Handley, K. M., Hasan, N. A., Haydon, S. R., Hickman, J. E., Hidalgo, G., Hofmockel, K. S., Hooker, J., Hulth, S., Hultman, J., Hyde, E., Ibáñez-Álamo, J. D., Jastrow, J. D., Jex, A. R., Johnson, L. S., Johnston, E. R., Joseph, S., Jurburg, S. D., Jurelevicius, D., Karlsson, A., Karlsson, R., Kauppinen, S., Kellogg, C. T. E., Kennedy, S. J., Kerkhof, L. J., King, G. M., Kling, G. W., Koehler, A. V., Krezalek, M., Kueneman, J., Lamendella, R., Landon, E. M., Lane-deGraaf, K., LaRoche, J., Larsen, P., Laverock, B., Lax, S., Lentino, M., Levin, I. I., Liancourt, P., Liang, W., Linz, A. M., Lipson, D. A., Liu, Y., Lladser, M. E., Lozada, M., Spirito, C. M., MacCormack, W. P., MacRae-Crerar, A., Magris, M., Martín-Platero, A. M., Martín-Vivaldi, M., Martínez, L. M., Martínez-Bueno, M., Marzinelli, E. M., Mason, O. U., Mayer, G. D., McDevitt-Irwin, J. M., McDonald, J., McGuire, K. L., McMahon, K. D., McMinds, R., Medina, M., Mendelson, J. R., Metcalf, J. L., Meyer, F., Michelangeli, F., Miller, K., Mills, D. A., Minich, J., Mocali, S., Moitinho-Silva, L., Moore, A., Morgan-Kiss, R. M., Munroe, P., Myrold, D., Neufeld, J. D., Ni, Y., Nicol, G. W., Nielsen, S., Nissimov, J. I., Niu, K., Nolan, M. J., Noyce, K., O’Brien, S. L., Okamoto, N., Orlando, L., Ortiz Castellano, Y., Osuolale, O., Oswald, W., Parnell, J., Peralta-Sánchez, J. M., Petraitis, P., Pfister, C., Pilon-Smits, E., Piombino, P., Pointing, S. B., Pollock, F. J., Potter, C., Prithiviraj, B., Quince, C., Rani, A., Ranjan, R., Rao, S., Rees, A. P., Richardson, M., Riebesell, U., Robinson, C., Rockne, K. J., Rodriguezl, S. M., Rohwer, F., Roundstone, W., Safran, R. J., Sangwan, N., Sanz, V., Schrenk, M., Schrenzel, M. D., Scott, N. M., Seger, R. L., Seguin-Orlando, A., Seldin, L., Seyler, L. M., Shakhsheer, B., Sheets, G. M., Shen, C., Shi, Y., Shin, H., Shogan, B. D., Shutler, D., Siegel, J., Simmons, S., Sjöling, S., Smith, D. P., Soler, J. J., Sperling, M., Steinberg, P. D., Stephens, B., Stevens, M. A., Taghavi, S., Tai, V., Tait, K., Tan, C. L., Tas, N., Taylor, D. L., Thomas, T., Timling, I., Turner, B. L., Urich, T., Ursell, L. K., van der Lelie, D., Van Treuren, W., van Zwieten, L., Vargas-Robles, D., Vega Thurber, R., Vitaglione, P., Walker, D. A., Walters, W. A., Wang, S., Wang, T., Weave, T., Webster, N. S., Wehrle, B., Weisenhorn, P., Weiss, S., Werner, J. J., West, K., Whitehead, A., Whitehead, S. R., Whittingham, L. A., Willerslev, E., Williams, A. E., Wood, S. A., Woodhams, D. C., Yang, Y., Zaneveld, J., Zarraonaindia, I., Zhang, Q. & Zhao, H., 23 Nov 2017, In: Nature. 551, 7681, p. 457-+Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Use of Mytilus edulis biosentinels to investigate spatial patterns of norovirus and faecal indicator organism contamination around coastal sewage discharges
Winterbourn, J., Clements, K., Lowther, J. A., Malham, S., McDonald, J. & Jones, D., 15 Nov 2016, In: Water Research. 105, November, p. 241-250Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Evaluation of spatial contamination patterns for norovirus and faecal indicator bacteria near to a coastal sewage discharge using Mytilus edulis as biosentinels
Winterbourn, J. B., Clements, K., Malham, S., McDonald, J. & Jones, D. L., Jan 2013, 92 McLeod et al (eds.). Proc. 9th Int. Conf. Molluscan Shellfish Safety . p. 89-92Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
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Importance of Micromonospora spp. as colonizers of cellulose in freshwater lakes as demonstrated by quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR of 16S rRNA
de Menezes, A. B., McDonald, J. E., Allison, H. E. & McCarthy, A. J., May 2012, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 78, 9, p. 3495-9 5 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review