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/
- Published
Enhancing first year undergraduate student engagement via the School of Biological Sciences tutorials module
McDonald, J. E. & Robinson, R. L., 1 Jul 2014, In: Bioscience Education. 22, 1, p. 54-69Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
- Published
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
- Published
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
- Published
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
- Published
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
- Published
Detection of novel Fibrobacter populations in landfill sites and determination of their relative abundance via quantitative PCR.
McDonald, J. E., Lockhart, R. J., Cox, M. J., Allison, H. E. & McCarthy, A. J., 1 May 2008, In: Environmental Microbiology. 10, 5, p. 2360-2365Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
- Published
Critical Review on the Public Health Impact of Norovirus Contamination in Shellfish and the Environment: A UK Perspective
Hassard, F., Sharp, J., Taft, H., Le Vay, L., Harris, J., McDonald, J., Tuson, K., Wilson, J., Jones, D. & Malham, S., Jun 2017, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 9, 2, p. 123-141Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Critical Evaluation of CrAssphage as a Molecular Marker for Human-Derived Wastewater Contamination in the Aquatic Environment
Farkas, K., Adriaenssens, E. M., Walker, D. I., McDonald, J., Malham, S. & Jones, D. L., 1 Jun 2019, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 11, 2, p. 113-119Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Concentration and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater using polyethylene glycol-based concentration and qRT-PCR
Farkas, K., Hillary, L., Thorpe, J., Walker, D., Lowther, J. A., McDonald, J., Malham, S. & Jones, D. L., 23 Feb 2021, In: Methods and Protocols. 4, 1, 10 p., 17.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Concentration and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater Using Polyethylene Glycol-Based Concentration and qRT-PCR.(vol 4, 17, 2021)
Farkas, K., Hillary, L. S., Thorpe, J., Walker, D. I., Lowther, J. A., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K. & Jones, D. L., 12 Nov 2021, In: Methods and Protocols. 4, 4Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Composition of the landfill microbial community as determined by application of domian- and group-specific 16s and 18s rRNA-targeted oligonucleotide probes.
McDonald, J. E., Allison, H. E. & McCarthy, A. J., 1 Feb 2010, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 76, 4, p. 1301-1306Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Characterising the Canine Oral Microbiome by Direct Sequencing of Reverse-Transcribed rRNA Molecules
McDonald, J., Larsen, N., Pennington, A., Connolly, J., Wallis, C., Rooks, D. J., Hall, N., McCarthy, A. J. & Allison, H. E., 8 Jun 2016, In: PLoS ONE. 11, 6, e0157046.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Bioreduction of Sheep Carcasses Effectively Contains and Reduces Pathogen Levels under Operational and Simulated Breakdown Conditions
Golyshin, P., Gwyther, C. L., Jones, D. L., Golyshin, P. N., Edwards-Jones, G., McKillen, J., McNair, I., McDonald, J. E. & Williams, A. P., 21 May 2013, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 47, 10, p. 5267–5275Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
- Published
Application of ecological and evolutionary theory to microbiome community dynamics across systems
McDonald, J., Marchesi, J. R. & Koskella, B., 23 Dec 2020, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287, 1941, 20202886.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Abundance and Distribution of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Coastal and Estuarine Sediments—a Review
Hassard, F., Gwyther, C. L., Farkas, K., Andrews, A., Jones, V., Cox, B., Brett, H., Jones, D., McDonald, J. & Malham, S., 1 Nov 2016, In: Frontiers in Microbiology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
A multiplex real‐time PCR assay enables simultaneous rapid detection and quantification of bacteria associated with acute oak decline
Crampton, B. G., Plummer, S., Kaczmarek, M., McDonald, J. & Denman, S., Sept 2020, In: Plant Pathology. 69, 7, p. 1301-1310 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
A comparison of precipitation and filtration-based SARS-CoV-2 recovery methods and the influence of temperature, turbidity, and surfactant load in urban wastewater
Kevill, J. L., Pellett, C., Farkas, K., Brown, M. R., Bassano, I., Denise, H., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K., Porter, J., Warren, J., Evens, N. P., Paterson, S., Singer, A. C. & Jones, D. L., 20 Feb 2022, In: Science of the Total Environment. 808, 151916.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
-
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