Dr Stuart MacNeill

Reader

Phone: +44 (0)1334 46 7268
Email: sam31@st-andrews.ac.uk

Teaching

BL2300 Research methods in biology

BL2301 Cell biology

BL2302 Molecular biology

BL3302 Gene regulation

BL4223 Molecular and cell biology of eukaryotic DNA replication

BL4201 Experimental research project

Research areas

Research in the MacNeill lab is primarily focused on dissecting the enzymes and mechanisms of DNA replication and genome stability using two contrasting genetically-tractable model systems, the eukaryotic fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe and the halophilic euryarchaeon Haloferax volcanii. In addition to this, we also study the molecular biology of T5-like bacteriophages, the activity of the highly diverged DNA ligase enzymes encoded by crAss-like bacteriophages and various eukaryotic viruses, such as Cedratvirus kamchatka, and the function of selected carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) in Haloarcula hispanica, Haloferax volcanii and related haloarchaea. In the past we have also worked on the parasitic protozoan Trypanosoma brucei and the non-human infectious kinetoplastid model organism Crithidia fasciculata. We use a variety of methods to address questions of protein structure and function, including genetics, genome engineering, cell and molecular biology, biochemistry, structural biology and bioinformatics.

PhD supervision

Liyuan Chen

Selected publications

Open access

The archaeal RecJ-like proteins: nucleases and ex-nucleases with diverse roles in replication and repair
MacNeill, S. A., Dec 2018, In: Emerging Topics in Life Sciences. 2, 4, p. 493-501
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open access

Insights into the evolutionary conserved regulation of Rio ATPase activity
Knüppel, R., Christensen, R., Gray, F. C., Esser, D., Strauss, D., Medenbach, J., Siebers, B., MacNeill, S. A., LaRonde, N. & Ferreira-Cerca, S., 16 Feb 2018, In: Nucleic Acids Research. 46, 3, p. 1441-1456 16 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

A novel archaeal DNA repair factor that acts with the UvrABC system to repair mitomycin C-induced DNA damage in a PCNA-dependent manner
Giroux, X. & MacNeill, S., 22 Dec 2015, In: Molecular Microbiology. 99, 1, p. 1-14
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Canonical binding of Chaetomium thermophilum DNA polymerase δ/ζ subunit PolD3 and flap endonuclease Fen1 to PCNA
Alphey, M. S., Wolford, C. & MacNeill, S., 18 Dec 2023, In: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 10, 9 p., 1320648.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

The haloarchaeal MCM proteins: bioinformatic analysis and targeted mutagenesis of the β7-β8 and β9-β10 hairpin loops and conserved zinc binding domain cysteines
Kristensen, T. P., Cherian, R. M., Gray, F. C. & MacNeill, S., 26 Mar 2014, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 5, 123.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Remote homology detection identifies a eukaryotic RPA DBD-C-like DNA binding domain as a conserved feature of archaeal Rpa1-like proteins
MacNeill, S., 20 Jul 2021, In: Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences. 8, 8 p., 675229.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access

Non‐canonical binding of the Chaetomium thermophilum PolD4 N‐terminal PIP motif to PCNA involves Q‐pocket and compact 2‐fork plug interactions but no 3₁₀ helix
Yang, D., Alphey, M. S. & MacNeill, S., 22 Aug 2022, (E-pub ahead of print) In: FEBS Journal. Early View, 14 p., 16590.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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