Dr. Allison McDonald

I've been at Laurier since July 2010.

Prior to joining Laurier, I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Biology at Western University (2008-2010).

I received my PhD in Cell and Systems Biology from the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2007 and my MSc in Biology from Queen’s University in 2000.

My lab focuses on the electron transport systems of photosynthesis and respiration. Our particular interest is alternative proteins involved in putting electrons into or taking electrons out of these systems. Current research projects focus on the alternative oxidase, plastoquinol terminal oxidase, and alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenases of bacteria, fungi, protists, plants and animals. We use various techniques to study the molecular, regulatory, and functional properties of these enzymes. I also have a strong interest in scholarship about women in science and disabled scientists, science communication, and the professional development of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

• Hoffman-Little Award for Excellence in Teaching (2021)
• John R. Evans Leaders Fund, Canada Foundation for Innovation (2014).
• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Post-doctoral Fellowship (2008-2010).

Potential Undergraduate Thesis Projects Available:

Undergraduate students interested in conducting an undergraduate research thesis (Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, or Health Sciences) should contact me by email at amcdonald@wlu.ca. I will be recruiting thesis students for September 2025 in February and March of 2024.

• Borowiec B, McDonald AE, Wilkie MP. 2023. Upstream migrant sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) show signs of increasing oxidative stress but maintain aerobic capacity with age. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A. 285: 111503.

• Weaver RJ, McDonald AE. 2023. Mitochondrial alternative oxidase across the tree of life: Presence, absence, and putative cases of lateral gene transfer. BBA Bioenergetics. 1864: 149003.

• McDonald AE. 2023. Unique opportunities for future research on the alternative oxidase of plants. Plant Physiology. 191: 2084-2092.

• Borowiec B, Birceanu O, Wilson J, McDonald A, Wilkie M. 2022. Niclosamide is a much more potent inhibitor of mitochondrial respiration than TFM in invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus). Environmental Science & Technology. 56: 4970-4979.

• Del-Saz N, Douthe C, Carriqui M, Ortíz, Sanhueza C, Rivas-Medina A, McDonald A, Fernie AR, Ribas-Carbo M, Gago J, Florez-Sarasa I, Flexas J. 2021. Different metabolic roles for AOX in leaves of palustrine and terrestrial species. Frontiers in Plant Science. 12: 752795.

• Birceanu O, Tessier LR, Buitrago BH, Li W, McDonald A, Wilkie MP. 2021. At the intersection between toxicology and physiology: What we have learned about sea lamprey and bony fish physiology from studying the mode of action of lampricides. Journal of Great Lakes Research, in press).

• Purhonen, J, Banerjee R, McDonald A, Fellman V, Kallijärvi J. 2020. A sensitive assay for dNTPs based on long synthetic oligonucleotides, EvaGreen dye, and inhibitor-resistant high-fidelity DNA polymerase. Nucleic Acids Research. 48: e87.

• Tward CE, Singh J, Cygelfarb W, McDonald AE. 2019. Identification of the alternative oxidase gene and its expression in the copepod Tigriopus californicus. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 228: 41-50. 

• McDonald AE, Gospodaryov DV. In press. Alternative NAD(P)H dehydrogenase and alternative oxidase: Proposed physiological roles in animals. Mitochondrion. 45: 7-17.

• McDonald AE, Pichaud N, Darveau CA. 2018. “Alternative” fuels contributing to mitochondrial electron transport: Importance of non-classical pathways in the diversity of animal metabolism. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part B Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. 224: 185-194. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpb.2017.11.006.

• Del-Saz NF, Ribas-Carbo M, McDonald AE, Lambers H, Fernie AR, Florez-Sarasa I. 2018. An In Vivo Perspective of the Role(s) of the Alternative Oxidase Pathway. Trends in Plant Science. 23: 206-219. Doi:10.1016/j.tplants.2017.11.006

• Roberston A, Schaltz K, Neimanis K, Staples JF, McDonald AE. 2016. Heterologous expression of the Crassostrea gigas (Pacific oyster) in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Journal of Bioenergetics and Biomembranes. 48:509-520.

• Costa JH, McDonald AE, Arnholdt-Schmitt B, Fernandes de Melo D. 2014. A classification scheme for alternative oxidases reveals the taxonomic distribution and evolutionary history of the enzyme in angiosperms. Mitochondrion. 19: 172-183.
• Neimanis K, Staples JF, Huner NP, McDonald AE. 2013. “Identification, expression, and taxonomic distribution of alternative oxidases in non-angiosperm plants”. Gene. 526: 275-286.
• McDonald AE, Ivanov A, Bode R, Maxwell D, Rodermel S, and Hüner N. 2011. “Flexibility in Photosynthetic Electron Transport: The Physiological Role of Plastoquinol Terminal Oxidase (PTOX)”. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta- Bioenergetics. 1807: 954-967.

Fall 2024

BI305 Origin of Life on Earth and Endosymbiotic Theory

BI491 Science Communication

Winter 2025

BI196OC Practical Skills for Biologists

Spring 2025

BI196OC Practical Skills for Biologists