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
Shifts in Soil Structure, Biological, and Functional Diversity Under Long-Term Carbon Deprivation
George, P. B. L., Fidler, D. B., Van Nostrand, J. D., Atkinson, J. A., Mooney, S. J., Creer, S., Griffiths, R. I., McDonald, J. E., Robinson, D. A. & Jones, D. L., 14 Sept 2021, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 12, 735022.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Soil metabolomics - current challenges and future perspectives
Brown, R., Reay, M. K., Centler, F., Chadwick, D., Bull, I. D., McDonald, J., Evershed, R. P. & Jones, D. L., 1 Jun 2024, In: Soil Biology and Biochemistry. 109382.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Spatial patterns and environmental constraints on ecosystem services at a catchment scale
Emmett, B., Cooper, D., Smart, S., Jackson, B., Thomas, A., Cosby, B., Evans, C., Glanville, H., McDonald, J., Malham, S., Marshall, M., Jarvis, S., Rajko-Nenow, P., Webb, G. P., Ward, S., Rowe, E., Jones, L., Vanbergen, E. J., Keith, A., Carter, H., Pereira, M. G., Hughes, S., Lebron, I., Wade, A. & Jones, D., 1 Dec 2016, In: Science of the Total Environment. 572, p. 1586-1600Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
- Published
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
- Published
Taxonomic description and genome sequence of Anaerorudis cellulosivorans gen. Nov. sp. nov., a novel cellulose- and Xylan-degrading bacterium of the Bacteroidota phylum isolated from a lab-scale methanogenic landfill bioreactor digesting municipal solid waste
El Houari, A., Carpenter, M., Chaplin, D., Golyshin, P. & McDonald, J., 1 Mar 2025, In: Systematic and Applied Microbiology. 49, 2, 126590.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
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
- Published
The interaction of human microbial pathogens, particulate material and nutrients in estuarine environments and their impacts on recreational and shellfish waters
Malham, S. K., Rajko-Nenow, P., Howlett, E., Tuson, K. E., Perkins, T. L., Pallett, D. W., Wang, H., Jago, C. F., Jones, D. L. & McDonald, J. E., 7 Jul 2014, In: Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts. 16, p. 2145-2155Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
The intergenic transcribed spacer region 1 as a molecular marker for identification and discrimination of Enterobacteriaceae associated with acute oak decline
Doonan, J., Denman, S., Gertler, C., Pachebat, J. A., Golyshin, P. N. & McDonald, J. E., 1 Jan 2015, In: Journal of Applied Microbiology. 118, 1, p. 193-201 9 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
The microbial ecology of anaerobic cellulose degradation in municipal waste landfill sites: evidence of a role for fibrobacters
McDonald, J. E., Houghton, J. N., Rooks, D. J., Allison, H. E. & McCarthy, A. J., 1 Apr 2012, In: Environmental Microbiology. 14, 4, p. 1077-1087Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review