James McDonald
@jamesemcdonald.bsky.social
Prof. of microbial ecology at the University of Birmingham. Decoding the tree microbiome 🌳🌲. He/him
Lovely to see Sandra Denman presenting our work on bacteria-beetle interactions in AOD at the Herefordshire Parkland Conference @jamesemcdonald.bsky.social @gathomas12.bsky.social @imibirmingham.bsky.social Check out the paper here: doi.org/10.1093/jamb...
Fully-funded PhD studentship available with me and Ozge Eyice at University of Birmingham - due to funder requirements this is only available to home (UK) applicants. Get in touch if interested: www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
Synthetic microbial communities for anaerobic digestion of waste to biogas at University of Birmingham on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - Synthetic microbial communities for anaerobic digestion of waste to biogas at University of Birmingham, listed on FindAPhD.com
findaphd.com
Call for papers! 📄 Letters in Applied Microbiology invites articles exploring African soil microbiomes and their relation to soil degradation, desertification, salinisation, climate resilience, and food security. 🌱 Submit your research today 🔗 https://ow.ly/cSNA50YNB8M
Know a leader in microbiome research? 🧬 Nominations are open for the Microbiome Medal (est. 2025), recognising excellence in discovery & service. Open to scientists at any career stage. 📅 Deadline: 10 April 🔗 www.psu.edu/news/researc... #Microbiome #OneHealth #Microbiology
Really pleased to be speaking at this event. Come and join us in Switzerland!
New Phytologist@newphyt.bsky.social · 6mo agoExplore plant interactions in forests from micro- to macro-scales, across the whole spectrum of plant biology. Submit your abstract for the 48th New Phytologist Symposium: Forest interactions by 20 May! 📅 13–16 October 2026 📍 Leysin, Switzerland #PlantScience www.newphytologist.org/events/48-nps
Cool paper showing that microbiomes of mature trees can be resilient, with a preview by @zrojer.bsky.social and myself! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Seeing the forest: Microbiome resilience in mature trees
In this issue of Cell Host & Microbe, Hussain et al.1 demonstrate surprising microbiome resilience in oak trees under abiotic and biotic stress. In co…
sciencedirect.com
James McDonald@jamesemcdonald.bsky.social · 6mo agoDelighted to see our work on the impact of drought on the oak microbiome featured on the cover of @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social Link to the article below this post 👇🏻
Delighted to see our work on the impact of drought on the oak microbiome featured on the cover of @cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social Link to the article below this post 👇🏻
Cell Host & Microbe@cp-cellhostmicrobe.bsky.social · 6mo agoOur February issue--now live--is deeply rooted in exciting new microbiology! On the cover: Microbial communities associated with semi-mature oak trees are remarkably resilient in the face of environmental challenges. www.cell.com/cell-host-mi...
🎉🎉🎉 New preprint to start the new year 🎉🎉🎉 Patients recovering from bowel surgery may have stomas formed to divert the flow of faeces to the opening on the skin, away from healing intestinal tissue. The visible sign of this process is an ileostomy or colostomy bag. /1 #surgerysky #medsky
medRxivpreprint@medrxivpreprint.bsky.social · 7mo agoImproving operative outcomes in patients with stomas https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.01.05.26343439v1
Very much looking forward to 2 days of great talks at #MMEG2025, and to catching up with @resp-micro.bsky.social and @jamesemcdonald.bsky.social.
Applied Microbiology International@amiposts.bsky.social · 9mo agoLast chance to register! #MMEG2025 is just two weeks away, and we’re shining a spotlight on two unmissable panel sessions at the event.
Still time to register for MMEG but book fast to avoid disappointment!
Applied Microbiology International@amiposts.bsky.social · 9mo agoLast chance to register! #MMEG2025 is just two weeks away, and we’re shining a spotlight on two unmissable panel sessions at the event.
Great to be part of this work led by our collaborators @gathomas12.bsky.social and Jozsef Vuts @rothamsted.bsky.social
Gareth Thomas@gathomas12.bsky.social · 9mo agoNew publication in @currentbiology.bsky.social ! We show how volatile organic compounds (VOCs) mediate interactions in acute oak decline (AOD), linking oak trees, bacteria, and Agrilus biguttatus beetles. 🔗 www.cell.com/current-biol...
📢 New preprint is out on bioRxiv 📢: How much does virome prep influence our view of the human gut virome? Short answer: a lot. Long answer: doi.org/10.1101/2025... Different methods lead to distinct community structures, richness, and major virus-host abundance patterns. 🧵 1/5
The pre print of my PhD research is out! 📣 Check it out for some cool results on high-throuhput microbial isolation, #SynComs and #Tree #Microbiome 🌳🧫 doi.org/10.1101/2025... #PhDone 💯
Large-scale culturing of the tree microbiome enables targeted disease suppression
The tree microbiome is essential for host health and pathogen suppression. Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) are emerging as important tools to understand microbiome dynamics and engineer micr...
doi.org
James McDonald@jamesemcdonald.bsky.social · 9mo ago🧵 1/ New preprint alert! From the FUTURE OAK project, led by the super talented @alejandra1909.bsky.social Large-scale culturing of the tree microbiome enables targeted disease suppression Here's what we found... 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
🧵 1/ New preprint alert! From the FUTURE OAK project, led by the super talented @alejandra1909.bsky.social Large-scale culturing of the tree microbiome enables targeted disease suppression Here's what we found... 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Large-scale culturing of the tree microbiome enables targeted disease suppression
The tree microbiome is essential for host health and pathogen suppression. Synthetic microbial communities (SynComs) are emerging as important tools to understand microbiome dynamics and engineer micr...
biorxiv.org
Had a great week at #PSM2025 - excellent science, great organisation, and super friendly people. Really enjoyed presenting our work on the oak microbiome and leaving here with lots of ideas for future work and collaborations. Thanks @vcarryon.bsky.social & team for organising @microsos.bsky.social
A pause on the live posts from @evolvedbiofilm.bsky.social as he is on stage giving the next presentation at #PSM2025 on single species and community living of Bacillus on plants @microsos.bsky.social
Thank you, Dirk-Jan! We indeed enjoyed it with our Birmingham-Leiden collaboration group! (Not tapas but restaurant part) -with @marccamb.bsky.social @jamesemcdonald.bsky.social @xinmingxu.bsky.social and María Negre Rodríguez
Great to be at #PMS2025 in Malaga. Looking forward to 5 days of science and giving a presentation on our group’s work on Thursday (session 4)
New paper: Dried soil bacteria enter dormancy with "frozen" RNA & metabolite profiles—but water vapor alone can wake them up! #Microbiology #SoilScience #Dormancy #ClimateChange #MicroSky
bioRxiv Microbiology@biorxiv-microbiol.bsky.social · 10mo agoTranscriptional and metabolic stasis define desiccation-induced dormancy in a soil bacterium until water vapor initiates resuscitation. https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.16.681527v1
Have research, results, or ideas to share with the microbial ecology community? Don’t miss your chance to present it at #MMEG2025 - abstract submissions close 2 November! 📨 Submit your abstract: appliedmicrobiology.org/ems-event-ca...
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 👇🏻
Applied Microbiology International@amiposts.bsky.social · 12mo agoSave 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...
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...
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...
🧵 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...
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...
biorxiv.org
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...
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.
jobs.ac.uk
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
