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/
- Article › Research › Peer-reviewed
- Published
Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology
Antwis, R. E., Griffiths, S. M., Harrison, X. A., Aranega-Bou, P., Arce, A., Bettridge, A. S., Brailsford, F., de Menezes, A., Devaynes, A., Forbes, K. M., Fry, E. L., Goodhead, I., Haskell, E., Heys, C., James, C., Johnston, S. R., Lewis, G. R., Lewis, Z., Macey, M. C., McCarthy, A., McDonald, J., Mejia-Florez, N. L., O'Brien, D., Orland, C., Pautasso, M., Reid, W. D. K., Robinson, H. A., Wilson, K. & Sutherland, W. J., May 2017, In: Fems Microbiology Ecology. 93, 5, fix044.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Genomic analysis of bacteria in the Acute Oak Decline pathobiome
Doonan, J., Denman, S., Pachebat, J. A. & McDonald, J., 8 Jan 2019, In: Microbial Genomics. 5, 1, 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
High-Throughput Method for Rapid Induction of Prophages from Lysogens and Its Application in the Study of Shiga Toxin-Encoding Escherichia coli Strains
McDonald, J. E., Smith, D. L., Fogg, P. C., McCarthy, A. J. & Allison, H. E., 1 Apr 2010, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 76, 7, p. 2360-2365Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Host–microbiota–insect interactions drive emergent virulence in a complex tree disease
Doonan, J., Broberg, M., Denman, S. & McDonald, J., 26 Aug 2020, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 287, 1933, 20200956.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Identification of Armillaria species on declined oak in Britain: implications for oak health
Denman, S., Barrett, G., Kirk, S. A., McDonald, J. & Coetzee, M. P. A., 7 Jan 2017, In: Forestry. 90, 1, p. 148-161Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Identification of carbohydrate metabolism genes in the metagenome of a marine biofilm community shown to be dominated by gammaproteobacteria and bacteroidetes
Edwards, J. L., Smith, D. L., Connolly, J., McDonald, J. E., Cox, M. J., Joint, I., Edwards, C. & McCarthy, A. J., 26 Oct 2010, In: Genes. 1, 3, p. 371-84 14 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Impact of Sediment Concentration on the Survival of Wastewater-Derived blaCTX-M-15-Producing E. coli, and the Implications for Dispersal into Estuarine Waters
Bashawri, Y. M. A., Robins, P., Jones, D. L., McDonald, J., Cooper, D. & Williams, P., 19 Oct 2020, In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17, 20, 15 p., 7608.Research 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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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
- Published
Improving quantification of bivalve larvae in mixed plankton samples using qPCR: A case study on Mytilus edulis
Alexander, J., Malham, S., Smyth, D., Webb, J., Fidler, D., Bayford, P., McDonald, J. & Le Vay, L., 15 Feb 2021, In: Aquaculture. 532, 736003.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Integrated multi-omic analysis of host-microbiota interactions in acute oak decline
Broberg, M., Doonan, J., Mundt, F. & McDonald, J., 30 Jan 2018, In: Microbiome. 6, 21.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Isolation studies reveal a shift in the cultivable microbiome of oak affected with Acute Oak Decline
Denman, S., Plummer, S., Peace, A. & McDonald, J., 1 Oct 2016, In: Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 39, 7, p. 484-490Research 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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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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Methods for the isolation of cellulose-degrading microorganisms
McDonald, J. E., Rooks, D. J. & McCarthy, A. J., 2012, In: Methods in Enzymology. 510, p. 349-74 26 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Microbiome and infectivity studies reveal complex polyspecies tree disease in Acute Oak Decline
Denman, S., Doonan, J., Ransom-Jones, E., Broberg, M., Plummer, S., Kirk, S. A., Scarlett, K., Griffiths, A., Kaczmarek, M., Foster, J., Peace, A., Golyshin, P., Hassard, F., Brown, N., Kenny, J. G. & McDonald, J., 2018, In: The ISME Journal. 12, p. 386-399Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Molecular biological detection and quantification of novel Fibrobacter populations in freshwater lakes.
McDonald, J. E., De Menezes, A. B., Allison, H. E. & McCarthy, A. J., 1 Aug 2009, In: Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 75, 15, p. 5148-5152Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in municipal wastewater to evaluate the success of lockdown measures for controlling COVID-19 in the UK
Hillary, L. S., Farkas, K., Maher, K. H., Lucaci, A., Thorpe, J., Distaso, M. A., Gaze, W. H., Paterson, S., Burke, T., Connor, T. R., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K. & Jones, D. L., 15 Jul 2021, In: Water Research. 200, p. 117214 1 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Multi-scale influences on Escherichia coli concentrations in shellfish: From catchment to estuary
Malham, S., Taft, H., Farkas, K., Ladd, C., Seymour, M., Robins, P., Jones, D. L., McDonald, J., Le Vay, L. & Jones, L., 1 Feb 2025, In: Environmental Pollution. 125476.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Multilocus sequence typing provides insights into the population structure and evolutionary potential of Brenneria goodwinii, associated with acute oak decline
Kaczmarek, M., Mullett, M. S., McDonald, J. & Denman, S., 1 Jun 2017, In: PLoS ONE. 12, 6, e0178390.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Physicochemical Factors Influence the Abundance and Culturability of Human Enteric Pathogens and Fecal Indicator Organisms in Estuarine Water and Sediment
Hassard, F., Andrews, A., Jones, D. L., Parsons, L., Jones, V., Cox, B. A., Daldorph, P., Brett, H., McDonald, J. & Malham, S., Oct 2017, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 8, 1996.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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RNA-viromics reveals diverse communities of soil RNA viruses with the potential to affect grassland ecosystems across multiple trophic levels
Hillary, L. S., Adriaenssens, E. M., Jones, D. L. & McDonald, J. E., 8 Apr 2022, In: ISME Communications. 2, 1, p. 34 34.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Seasonal and diurnal surveillance of treated and untreated wastewater for human enteric viruses
Farkas, K., Marshall, M., Cooper, D., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K., Peters, D. E., Maloney, J. D. & Jones, D. L., Nov 2018, In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 25, 33, p. 33391-33401Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Seasonal and spatial dynamics of enteric viruses in wastewater and in riverine and estuarine receiving waters
Malham, S., Farkas, K., McDonald, J., Jones, D. L., Cooper, D. & de Rougemont, A., 1 Sept 2018, In: Science of the Total Environment. 634, p. 1174 1183 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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