Author

Jim Downie

Bangor UniversityORCID 0000-0002-7175-0533Unclaimed ORCID profile · follow to get notified of new preprints

Biology Disciplines

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Research Focus:cell type annotation· 2 Assay:metagenomics· 2 Organism:plant (other)· 2 Approach:statistical model· 2 Research Focus:benchmarking· 1 Approach:experimental assay· 1 Organism:multiple species· 1 Assay:whole-genome sequencing· 1

Frequent Co-Authors

Alejandra OrdoneziD· 2 shared James Edward McDonaldiD· 2 shared Jasen P. FinchiD· 2 shared Marine C. CamboniD· 2 shared Sandra DenmaniD· 2 shared Usman HussainiD· 2 shared Alex D. TwyfordiD· 1 shared Anparasy KajamuhaniD· 1 shared

Activity by Year

2025-2026 · peak 2/yr

Co-Author Collaboration Network

10 top collaborators · 29 mutual co-author links

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2 shared papersMicrobiology

Alejandra OrdonezORCID

Mutual co-authors in cluster

Author profile →

3 papers

Recent·Most cited

Conserved genes, discordant structure: a pangenomic view of plant mitochondrial genome evolution

Max R. Brown, Jim Downie, Nathan M Riley, Rory J. Craig, Lucía Campos, Botond Sipos, Jitender Cheema, Leanne S. Haggerty, Fergal J. Martin, Alex D. Twyford

This study analyzes over 300 plant mitochondrial genomes to show that gene content is conserved but structural complexity varies, driven by repeat proliferation and recombination rather than intergenomic DNA transfer.

bioRxiv · Oct 28, 2026 · PreprintEvolutionary Biology

Large-scale culturing of the tree microbiome enables targeted disease suppression

Alejandra Ordonez, Marine C. Cambon, Jim Downie, Anparasy Kajamuhan, Usman Hussain, Bridget Genevieve Crampton, M.K. Richardson, Marcus Jones, Robert Green, Bethany J. Pettifor, Edward J. Pyne, Jasen P. Finch, Carrie L. Brady, Sandra Denman, James Edward McDonald

The paper cultivates a large oak microbiome collection to identify disease-suppressive microbial communities that reduce pathogen levels in oak trees.

bioRxiv · Nov 18, 2025 · PreprintMicrobiology

Environment and disease have tissue-specific effects on the tree microbiome

Jim Downie, Alejandra Ordonez, Marine C. Cambon, Usman Hussain, Nathan Brown, Manfred Beckmann, Jasen P. Finch, John Draper, Sandra Denman, James Edward McDonald

This study examines how environmental factors and disease affect the microbiome of oak trees across different tissues, revealing tissue-specific responses and identifying changes in microbiome composition and function in diseased trees.

bioRxiv · Aug 15, 2025 · PreprintMicrobiology