James McDonald

MMEG is coming to @unibirmingham.bsky.social in December - look out for some exciting announcements about the programme in the next few weeks! Abstract submission and registration is open 👇🏻

Save the Date: #MMEG2025 is coming to Birmingham!

Join us on 15–16 December 2025 for the 31st edition of MMEG. This year's event is your chance to:
🔬 Share your research
🤝 Connect with peers
🦠 Discover the latest in molecular microbial ecology

Register now: appliedmicrobiology.org/ems-event-ca...

You watched it!

New preprint from the lab by Adele Pioppi on her #NNF_INTERACT project

Successive cultivation under drought selects for specific microbiome members in the wheat rhizosphere

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Environment and disease have tissue-specific effects on the tree microbiome Trees are essential for ecosystem function, but due to their long lifespan, are disproportionately impacted by climate change and disease. Tree-associated microbiota are critical for tree health and r...

🧵 New preprint alert!

From the Future Oak project, led by @cenococcum.bsky.social

Landscape-scale impacts of environment and disease on the tree microbiome 🌳🦠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Assistant Professor (Research and Education) in Bacterial Genomics at University of Birmingham Apply now for the Assistant Professor (Research and Education) in Bacterial Genomics role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.

We have a position for an Assist Prof in Microbial Genomics in our School of III.

Hod Joan Geoghegan will be happy to field questions if you are interested. No specific area of microbial genomics preferred so please do consider it

www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DOO184/a...

Our newest title, Microbiology Outlooks is now open to submissions! If you have a review, perspective, or commentary to contribute, submit to this forward-looking journal covering all areas of microbiology research: microb.io/Mout. #NewJournal #Mout

Check out our new preprint on @biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social

See how phi3T phage shifts Bacillus subtilis cell shape in the absence of SPbeta prophage and alters its fitness - our new publication in @commsbio.nature.com from group of @annadragos.bsky.social together with @bramkamplab.bsky.social
www.nature.com/articles/s42...

Go and check out the pre-print of the landscape-scale tree microbiome study from the Future Oak project. Huge amounts of efforts and talent went into this work, with a pinch of "this is crazy, but we can do it". Well done @jamesemcdonald.bsky.social @cenococcum.bsky.social et al. Thread below 👇

Thanks for posting!

And thanks to the team members for delivering this huge project! @cenococcum.bsky.social @alejandra1909.bsky.social @marccamb.bsky.social

🌳 Trees are not alone. Their microbial partners matter!
📄Feedback and comments welcome!
🔬Huge thanks to our funders! BBSRC, NERC, DEFRA and Scottish Government

Understanding how tree microbiomes respond to environmental change and disease is key to predicting future impacts—and to developing microbiome-based strategies for tree health and resilience.

We also looked at trees with Acute Oak Decline (AOD)—a complex disease driven by abiotic and biotic stressors. The stem microbiome was most affected, showing reduced species richness and altered function.

We assembled 1657 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from oak-associated bacteria, archaea, and fungi. This is a major resource for future tree microbiome research 🌱🧬

Each oak tissue type had a distinct microbiome—both taxonomically and functionally. Environmental factors like temperature, humidity, rainfall, and ion deposition had tissue-specific effects on microbial composition and function.

We profiled oak leaf, stem, and root/rhizosphere microbiomes using 16S rRNA gene and ITS profiling, and shotgun metagenomics across a landscape. Then we built a 3-level occupancy model to understand microbial distribution.

Microbiomes - communities of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, and archaea - play key roles in tree health, resilience, and disease suppression. But we still know little about how these communities vary across tissues and landscapes.

We explored how climate and disease shape microbial communities living in oak trees across a landscape. Here's what we found 👇

Environment and disease have tissue-specific effects on the tree microbiome Trees are essential for ecosystem function, but due to their long lifespan, are disproportionately impacted by climate change and disease. Tree-associated microbiota are critical for tree health and r...

🧵 New preprint alert!

From the Future Oak project, led by @cenococcum.bsky.social

Landscape-scale impacts of environment and disease on the tree microbiome 🌳🦠
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Had a great day out with the team at Black County Museum yesterday. Lucky to work with such a great group of scientists and people 🌞🍦 @g-thomas.bsky.social @alejandra1909.bsky.social @sophie-e-powell.bsky.social @alexanderwoodley.bsky.social @marccamb.bsky.social @bpettifor.bsky.social

A diverse and distinct microbiome inside living trees - Nature Microbiome analyses of living trees show that a single tree can host approximately one trillion bacteria, with microbial communities distinctly partitioned between heartwood and sapwood and with minim...

Really exciting and important tree microbiome paper published in @nature.com ‘A diverse and distinct microbiome inside living trees’ 👏 www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Really pleased to be involved in this exciting project led by @hendrikschaefer.bsky.social !

Wonderful day @bangoruniversity.bsky.social Huge congratulations to Dr. @alejandra1909.bsky.social for passing her viva with minor corrections. Thanks to Carrie Brady and @mojganrabiey.bsky.social for examining and George Turner for chairing. Look out for some cool papers in the near future!

See our review on SynComs for tree microbiome engineering by @marccamb.bsky.social @xinmingxu.bsky.social @sofiaifgomes.bsky.social @jamesemcdonald.bsky.social

seed grant between @imibirmingham.bsky.social @unibirmingham.bsky.social & @unileiden.bsky.social

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Synthetic microbial communities for studying and engineering the tree microbiome: challenges and opportunities Trees are essential to ecosystems in both natural and urban environments, yet they are increasingly threatened by abiotic and biotic stresses linked t…

New #openaccess opinion piece, the first of our brilliant collaboration with @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social @sofiaifgomes.bsky.social @xinmingxu.bsky.social & @marccamb.bsky.social - thanks to @unibirmingham.bsky.social and @unileiden.bsky.social for funding!

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Professor Robin May to join UKHSA as Chief Scientific Officer UKHSA has appointed Professor Robin May as Interim Chief Scientific Officer.

Huge congratulations to IMI's Prof Robin May @robinmay9.bsky.social who has been appointed as UKHSA's @ukhsa.bsky.social Interim Chief Scientific Officer - excellent choice! 🎉
www.gov.uk/government/n...

Always a great day at @unibirmingham.bsky.social graduation. Congratulations to all of the School of Biosciences 2025 graduates - and great to see Becca get her degree after being an excellent project student in our lab this year 👏

If you’re at #2025ISMPMI, drop by @alejandra1909.bsky.social ‘s poster. Some really cool results on pathogen suppression using syncoms in trees