MacLean Research Group – Experimental Evolutionary Genetics and Ecology
Dr. Craig MacLean
Royal Society University Research Fellow
University of Oxford, Department of Zoology
South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PS
Email: craig[dot]maclean[at]zoo.ox.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1865 271157
Research interests:
My main research interest is in understanding how molecular and population level processes interact to drive adaptive evolution. Questions that my research has addressed include: What drives the evolution of microbial diversity? How do cooperative adaptations evolve in the face of exploitation by cheats? What influences the evolution of antibiotic resistance? To address these questions, we use experiments in which populations of microbes with adapting to novel environments in the lab. Lab populations evolve very rapidly, so that evolutionary change can be observed in real time, and lab populations offer a unique opportunity to manipulate both ecological and molecular processes that drive evolution.
Currently, we are working on trying to understand how the molecular mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and the ecological context in which antibiotics are deployed influence the costs and benefits of resistance mutations and the evolutionary dynamics of resistance evolution. Ultimately, we hope to use the insights from this research program to design novel treatment strategies for combating resistance in pathogen populations. I would also like to begin to do more work on the evolution of epistasis and genetic robustness.
Prospective students and post-docs:
I’m in the process of expanding my research group and I’m actively recruiting both PhD students and Post-docs. If you’d like to work with me, please just send me an email with your CV and description of research interests.
Lab members
Clara Torres Barceló (Post-doc)
Danna Gifford (D.Phil Student)
Ellie Harrison (Ph.D. Student)
Selected Publications
- R.C. MacLean, A. Hall, G. Perron, and A. Buckling. The population genetics of antibiotic resistance: integrating molecular mechanisms and treatment context. Nature Reviews Genetics (2010)11:405-414. Link
- R.C MacLean and A. Buckling. The distribution of fitness effects of beneficial mutations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS Genetics (2009) 5: e1000406 Link
- P.A. Venail*, R.C. MacLean*, T. Bouvier, M. Brockhurst, M.E. Hochberg, and N. Mouquet. Diversity and productivity peak at intermediate dispersal rate in evolving metacommunities. Nature (2008) 452:210-214. Link
- R.C. MacLean and I. Gudelj. Resource competition and social conflict in experimental populations of yeast. Nature (2006) 441:498-501. PDF
- R.C. MacLean, P.B Rainey, and G. Bell. 2004. The evolution of a pleiotropic fitness trade-off in Pseudomonas fluorescens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA101:8072-8077.Link
Press Coverage
- When Evolution Tends To Maximize The Diversity And Functioning Of Ecosystems. Science Daily. 2008.
- Selfishness 'no sure way to survive'. Financial Times. May 2006.
Complete List of Publications
- R.C. MacLean, G.G. Perron, and A. Gardner. Diminishing Returns from Beneficial Mutations and Pervasive Epistasis Shape the Fitness Landscape for Rifampicin Resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Genetics (2010) 186:1-10.
- R.C. MacLean, A. Fuentes-Hernandez , D. Greig , L.D Hurst LD, and I. Gudelj. A Mixture of “Cheats” and “Co-Operators” Can Enable Maximal Group Benefit. PLoS Biology (2010) 8: e1000486. [Link]
- A.D. Morgan, R.C. MacLean, C. Hillesland, and G. Velicer. Comparative analysis of Myxococcus predation on soil bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2010) In press. [Link]
- R.C. MacLean, A. Hall, G. Perron, and A. Buckling. The Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance: Insight into the Roles of Molecular Mechanisms of Resistance and Treatment Context. Discovery Medicine (2010) 10:112-118. [Link]
- P. Venail, R.C. MacLean, C.N. Meynard, and N.Mouquet. Dispersal scales up the biodiversity-productivity relationship in an experimental source-sink metacommunity. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B (2010):2339-2345. Link
- R.C. MacLean, A. Hall, G. Perron, and A. Buckling. The population genetics of antibiotic resistance: integrating molecular mechanisms and treatment context. Nature Reviews Genetics (2010)11:405-414. Link
- R.C. MacLean. Predicting epistasis: an experimental test of metabolic control theory with bacterial transcription and translation. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2010) 23(3)488-493. Link
- A.Hall, V. Griffiths, R.C MacLean and N.Colegrave. Mutational Neighbourhood and Mutation Supply Rate Constrain Adaptation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B (2010) 277(1681) 643-650 Link
- R.C MacLean and A. Buckling. The distribution of fitness effects of beneficial mutations in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. PLoS Genetics (2009) 5: e1000406 Link
- H.Ward, G.G. Perron, and R.C. MacLean. The cost of multiple drug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2009) 22:997-1003. Link
- A. Buckling, R.C. MacLean, M. Brockhurst, and N. Colegrave. The Beagle in a bottle. Nature (2009) 457:824-859. Link
- A.D. Morgan, R.C. MacLean, and A. Buckling. The effects of antagonistic coevolution on parasite-mediated coexistence. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2008) 22:287-292. Link
- R.C. MacLean and C. Brandon. Stable public goods cooperation and dynamic social interactions in yeast. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2008) 21:1836-1843. PDF
- P.A. Venail*, R.C. MacLean*, T. Bouvier, M. Brockhurst, M.E. Hochberg, and N. Mouquet. Diversity and productivity peak at intermediate dispersal rate in evolving metacommunities. Nature (2008) 452:210-214 . PDF [Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.C. MacLean. The tragedy of the commons in microbial populations: insights from theoretical, comparative and experimental studies. Heredity (2008) 100:233-239. PDF
- I. Gudelj, R.E. Beardmore, S. Arkin, and R.C. MacLean. Constraints on microbial metabolism drive evolutionary diversification in homogeneous environments. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2007) 20:1882-1889. PDF [ Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.C. MacLean. Pleiotropy and GAL pathway degeneration in yeast. Journal of Evolutionary Biology (2007) 20: 1333–1338. PDF
- R.C. MacLean and I. Gudelj. 2006. Resource competition and social conflict in experimental populations of yeast. Nature 441:498-501. PDF [Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.D.H. Barrett, R.C. MacLean, and G. Bell. 2006. Mutations of intermediate effect are responsible for adaptation in evolving populations of Pseudomonas fluorescens. Biology Letters 2:236-238. PDF
- R.D.H Barrett, R.C. MacLean, and G. Bell. 2005. Experimental evolution of Pseudomonas fluorescens in simple and complex environments. American Naturalist 166:470-480.PDF [Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.C. MacLean. 2005. Adaptive radiation in microbial microcosms. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 18: 1376-86. PDF
- R.C. MacLean, A. Dickson, and G. Bell. 2005. Resource competition and adaptive radiation in a microbial microcosm. Ecology Letters 8:36-46.PDF [Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.C. MacLean, P.B Rainey, and G. Bell. 2004. The evolution of a pleiotropic fitness trade-off in Pseudomonas fluorescens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA101:8072-8077.PDF [Faculty of 1000 Biology Evaluation]
- R.C MacLean and G. Bell. 2003. Divergent evolution during an experimental adaptive radiation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B 270:1645- 1650. PDF
- D. Bélotte, J-B. Curien, R.C. MacLean, and G. Bell. 2003. An Experimental Test of Local Adaptation in Soil Bacteria. Evolution 57:27-36. PDF
- R.C. MacLean and G. Bell. 2002. Experimental Adaptive Radiation in Pseudomonas. American Naturalist 160:569-581.PDF