Staff profile

Alistair McGregor studied genetics at the University of Edinburgh. He then carried out his PhD with Gabby Dover at the University of Leicester where he investigated co-evolution between Bicoid and its target gene enhancers, work he continued with Thomas Gregor and Eric Wieschaus. He was then a postdoc with David Stern at Princeton University studying the regulation and evolution of the gene shaven-baby and subsequently with Wim Damen at Cologne University exploring spider genetics and development. He was then appointed as a group leader at the Vetmeduni in Vienna and before moving to Oxford Brookes University where he became a Professor in 2015. In 2022 he moved to the Department of Biosciences here at Durham University. His research investigates the genetic and developmental bases of morphological evolution among Drosophila species, and spider genomics, development and regeneration.

Research Interests

Evolutionary developmental biology

Developmental genetics

Wnt signalling

Gene regulatory networks

Morphological evolution

Segmentation

Regeneration

Authored book

• Schwager, E., Schönauer, A., Leite, D., Sharma, P., & McGregor, A. (2015). Chelicerata. Springer-Verlag Vienna. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1865-8_5

Journal Article

• Buffry, A. D., Currea, J. P., Franke-Gerth, F. A., Palavalli-Nettimi, R., Bodey, A. J., Rau, C., …Kittelmann, M. (2024). Evolution of compound eye morphology underlies differences in vision between closely related Drosophila species. BMC Biology, 22(1), Article 67. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-024-01864-7
• Ridgway, A. M., Hood, E. J., Jimenez, J. F., Nunes, M. D., & McGregor, A. P. (2024). Sox21b underlies the rapid diversification of a novel male genital structure between Drosophila species. Current Biology, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2024.01.022
• Aase-Remedios, M. E., Janssen, R., Leite, D. J., Sumner-Rooney, L., & McGregor, A. P. (2023). Evolution of the Spider Homeobox Gene Repertoire by Tandem and Whole Genome Duplication. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 40(12), Article msad239. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad239
• Buffry, A. D., Kittelmann, S., & McGregor, A. P. (2023). Characterisation of the role and regulation of Ultrabithorax in sculpting fine-scale leg morphology. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, 11, Article 1119221. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2023.1119221
• Baudouin-Gonzalez, L., Harper, A., McGregor, A. P., & Sumner-Rooney, L. (2022). Regulation of Eye Determination and Regionalization in the Spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. Cells, 11(4), Article 631. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells11040631
• Buffry, A., & McGregor, A. (2022). Micromanagement of Drosophila Post-Embryonic Development by Hox Genes. Journal of Developmental Biology, 10(1), https://doi.org/10.3390/jdb10010013
• Hagen, J., Mendes, C., Booth, S., Figueras Jimenez, J., Tanaka, K., Franke, F., …McGregor, A. (2021). Unraveling the Genetic Basis for the Rapid Diversification of Male Genitalia between Drosophila Species. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 38(2), 437-448. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa232
• Casares, F., & McGregor, A. (2021). The evolution and development of eye size in flies. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Developmental Biology, 10(2), https://doi.org/10.1002/wdev.380
• Harper, A., Gonzalez, L., Schönauer, A., Janssen, R., Seiter, M., Holzem, M., …Sumner-Rooney, L. (2021). Widespread retention of ohnologs in key developmental gene families following whole-genome duplication in arachnopulmonates. G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics, 11(12), https://doi.org/10.1093/g3journal/jkab299
• Baudouin-Gonzalez, L., Schoenauer, A., Harper, A., Blakeley, G., Seiter, M., Arif, S., …McGregor, A. (2021). The Evolution of Sox Gene Repertoires and Regulation of Segmentation in Arachnids. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 38(8), 3153-3169. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab088
• Kittelmann, S., Preger-Ben Noon, E., McGregor, A., & Frankel, N. (2021). A complex gene regulatory architecture underlies the development and evolution of cuticle morphology in Drosophila. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 69, 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2021.01.003
• Holzem, M., Franke, F., Mendes, C., & McGregor, A. (2020). Wnt gene regulation and function during maxillary palp development in Drosophila melanogaster. Developmental Biology, 462(1), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2020.03.012
• Thomas, G., Dohmen, E., Hughes, D., Murali, S., Poelchau, M., Glastad, K., …Richards, S. (2020). Gene content evolution in the arthropods. Genome Biology, 21(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-019-1925-7
• Gaspar, P., Arif, S., Sumner-Rooney, L., Kittelmann, M., Bodey, A., Stern, D., …McGregor, A. (2020). Characterization of the genetic architecture underlying eye size variation within drosophila melanogaster and drosophila simulans. G3: Genes | Genomes | Genetics, 10(3), 1005-1018. https://doi.org/10.1534/g3.119.400877
• Holzem, M., Braak, N., Brattström, O., McGregor, A., & Breuker, C. (2019). Wnt Gene Expression During Early Embryogenesis in the Nymphalid Butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00468
• Gaspar, P., Almudi, I., Nunes, M., & McGregor, A. (2019). Human eye conditions: insights from the fly eye. Human Genetics, 138(8-9), 973-991. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00439-018-1948-2
• Kittelmann, S., & McGregor, A. (2019). Modulation and evolution of animal development through microRNA regulation of gene expression. Genes, 10(4), https://doi.org/10.3390/genes10040321
• Hagen, J., Mendes, C., Blogg, A., Payne, A., Tanaka, K., Gaspar, P., …Nunes, M. (2019). Tartan underlies the evolution of Drosophila male genital morphology. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(38), 19025-19030. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1909829116
• Rice, G., David, J., Kamimura, Y., Masly, J., Mcgregor, A., Nagy, O., …Yassin, A. (2019). A standardized nomenclature and atlas of the male terminalia of Drosophila melanogaster. Fly, 13(1-4), 51-64. https://doi.org/10.1080/19336934.2019.1653733
• Almudi, I., & McGregor, A. (2019). Sensory Organ Size Evolution: A View from Drosophila. Developmental Cell, 50(6), 673-674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2019.09.003
• Leite, D., Baudouin-Gonzalez, L., Iwasaki-Yokozawa, S., Lozano-Fernandez, J., Turetzek, N., Akiyama-Oda, Y., …McGregor, A. (2018). Homeobox gene duplication and divergence in arachnids. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 35(9), 2240-2253. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msy125
• Kittelmann, S., Buffry, A., Franke, F., Almudi, I., Yoth, M., Sabaris, G., …McGregor, A. (2018). Gene regulatory network architecture in different developmental contexts influences the genetic basis of morphological evolution. PLoS Genetics, 14(5), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1007375
• Paese, C., Schoenauer, A., Leite, D., Russell, S., & McGregor, A. (2018). A SoxB gene acts as an anterior gap gene and regulates posterior segment addition in a spider. eLife, 7, https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.37567
• Bonatto Paese, C., Leite, D., Schönauer, A., McGregor, A., & Russell, S. (2018). Duplication and expression of Sox genes in spiders. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 18(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-018-1337-4
• Feitosa, N., Pechmann, M., Schwager, E., Tobias-Santos, V., McGregor, A., Damen, W., & Nunes da Fonseca, R. (2017). Molecular control of gut formation in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. https://doi.org/10.1002/dvg.23033
• Schwager, E., Sharma, P., Clarke, T., Leite, D., Wierschin, T., Pechmann, M., …McGregor, A. (2017). The house spider genome reveals an ancient whole-genome duplication during arachnid evolution. BMC Biology, 15(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0399-x
• Leite, D., Ninova, M., Hilbrant, M., Arif, S., Griffiths-Jones, S., Ronshaugen, M., & McGregor, A. (2016). Pervasive microRNA duplication in chelicerates: Insights from the embryonic microRNA repertoire of the spider parasteatoda tepidariorum. Genome Biology and Evolution, 8(7), 2133-2144. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evw143
• Buffry, A., Mendes, C., & McGregor, A. (2016). The Functionality and Evolution of Eukaryotic Transcriptional Enhancers. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.adgen.2016.08.004
• Leite, D., & McGregor, A. (2016). Arthropod evolution and development: recent insights from chelicerates and myriapods. Current Opinion in Genetics and Development, 39, 93-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gde.2016.06.002
• Torres-Oliva, M., Almudi, I., McGregor, A., & Posnien, N. (2016). A robust (re-)annotation approach to generate unbiased mapping references for RNA-seq-based analyses of differential expression across closely related species. BMC Genomics, 17(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-016-2646-x
• Schönauer, A., Paese, C., Hilbrant, M., Leite, D., Schwager, E., Feitosa, N., …McGregor, A. (2016). The wnt and delta-notch signalling pathways interact to direct pair-rule gene expression via caudal during segment addition in the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.131656
• Tanaka, K., Hopfen, C., Herbert, M., Schlötterer, C., Stern, D., Masly, J., …Nunes, M. (2015). Genetic architecture and functional characterization of genes underlying the rapid diversification of male external genitalia between Drosophila simulans and Drosophila mauritiana. Genetics, 200(1), 357-369. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.114.174045
• Janssen, R., Schönauer, A., Weber, M., Turetzek, N., Hogvall, M., Goss, G., …Hilbrant, M. (2015). The evolution and expression of panarthropod frizzled genes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 3(AUG), https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2015.00096
• Crocker, J., Abe, N., Rinaldi, L., McGregor, A., Frankel, N., Wang, S., …Stern, D. (2015). Low affinity binding site clusters confer HOX specificity and regulatory robustness. Cell, 160(1-2), 191-203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.11.041
• Arif, S., Kittelmann, S., & Mcgregor, A. (2015). From shavenbaby to the naked valley: Trichome formation as a model for evolutionary developmental biology. Evolution & Development, 17(1), 120-126. https://doi.org/10.1111/ede.12113
• Posnien, N., Zeng, V., Schwager, E., Pechmann, M., Hilbrant, M., Keefe, J., …Extavour, C. (2014). A comprehensive reference transcriptome resource for the common house spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. PLoS ONE, 9(8), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104885
• Hogvall, M., Schönauer, A., Budd, G., McGregor, A., Posnien, N., & Janssen, R. (2014). Analysis of the Wnt gene repertoire in an onychophoran provides new insights into the evolution of segmentation. EvoDevo, 5(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/2041-9139-5-14
• Hilbrant, M., Almudi, I., Leite, D., Kuncheria, L., Posnien, N., Nunes, M., & McGregor, A. (2014). Sexual dimorphism and natural variation within and among species in the Drosophila retinal mosaic. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 14(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-014-0240-x
• Arif, S., Murat, S., Almudi, I., Nunes, M., Bortolamiol-Becet, D., McGregor, N., …McGregor, A. (2013). Evolution of mir-92a underlies natural morphological variation in drosophila melanogaster. Current Biology, 23(6), 523-528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2013.02.018
• Arif, S., Hilbrant, M., Hopfen, C., Almudi, I., Nunes, M., Posnien, N., …Mcgregor, A. (2013). Genetic and developmental analysis of differences in eye and face morphology between Drosophila simulans and Drosophila mauritiana. Evolution & Development, 15(4), 257-267. https://doi.org/10.1111/ede.12027
• Nunes, M., Arif, S., Schlötterer, C., & McGregor, A. (2013). A perspective on micro-evo-devo: Progress and potential. Genetics, 195(3), 625-634. https://doi.org/10.1534/genetics.113.156463
• Hilbrant, M., Damen, W., & McGregor, A. (2012). Evolutionary crossroads in developmental biology: the spider Parasteatoda tepidariorum. https://doi.org/10.1242/dev.078204
• Posnien, N., Hopfen, C., Hilbrant, M., Ramos-Womack, M., Murat, S., Schönauer, A., …McGregor, A. (2012). Evolution of eye morphology and Rhodopsin expression in the Drosophila melanogaster species subgroup. PLoS ONE, 7(5), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037346
• Pechmann, M., Khadjeh, S., Turetzek, N., McGregor, A., Damen, W., & Prpic, N. (2011). Novel function of Distal-less as a gap gene during spider segmentation. PLoS Genetics, 7(10), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002342
• Frankel, N., Erezyilmaz, D., McGregor, A., Wang, S., Payre, F., & Stern, D. (2011). Morphological evolution caused by many subtle-effect substitutions in regulatory DNA. Nature, 474(7353), 598-603. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10200
• Shigenobu, S., Bickel, R., Brisson, J., Butts, T., Chang, C., Christiaens, O., …Stern, D. (2010). Comprehensive survey of developmental genes in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum: Frequent lineage-specific duplications and losses of developmental genes. Insect Molecular Biology, 19(SUPPL. 2), 47-62. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2583.2009.00944.x
• Janssen, R., Le Gouar, M., Pechmann, M., Poulin, F., Bolognesi, R., Schwager, E., …McGregor, A. (2010). Conservation, loss, and redeployment of Wnt ligands in protostomes: Implications for understanding the evolution of segment formation. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 10(1), https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2148-10-374
• Richards, S., Gibbs, R., Gerardo, N., Moran, N., Nakabachi, A., Stern, D., …Hunter, W. (2010). Genome sequence of the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. PLoS Biology, 8(2), https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000313
• Murat, S., Hopfen, C., & McGregor, A. (2010). The function and evolution of Wnt genes in arthropods. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asd.2010.05.007
• Fischer, A., Arboleda, E., Egger, B., Hilbrant, M., McGregor, A., Cole, A., & Daley, A. (2009). ZOONET: Perspectives on the evolution of animal form. Meeting report. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution, 312(7), 679-685. https://doi.org/10.1002/jez.b.21294
• Pechmann, M., McGregor, A., Schwager, E., Feitosa, N., & Damen, W. (2009). Dynamic gene expression is required for anterior regionalization in a spider. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(5), 1468-1472. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811150106
• Schwager, E., Pechmann, M., Feitosa, N., McGregor, A., & Damen, W. (2009). hunchback Functions as a Segmentation Gene in the Spider Achaearanea tepidariorum. Current Biology, 19(16), 1333-1340. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2009.06.061
• McGregor, A., Pechmann, M., Schwager, E., & Damen, W. (2009). An ancestral regulatory network for posterior development in arthropods. Communicative and Integrative Biology, 2(2), 174-176. https://doi.org/10.4161/cib.7710
• Hermisson, J., & McGregor, A. (2008). Pleiotropic scaling and QTL data. Nature, 456(7222), https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07452
• McGregor, A., Pechmann, M., Schwager, E., Feitosa, N., Kruck, S., Aranda, M., & Damen, W. (2008). Wnt8 Is Required for Growth-Zone Establishment and Development of Opisthosomal Segments in a Spider. Current Biology, 18(20), 1619-1623. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2008.08.045
• McGregor, A., Hilbrant, M., Pechmann, M., Schwager, E., Prpic, N., & Damen, W. (2008). Cupiennius salei and Achaearanea tepidariorum: Spider models for investigating evolution and development. BioEssays, 30(5), 487-498. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.20744
• Gregor, T., McGregor, A., & Wieschaus, E. (2008). Shape and function of the Bicoid morphogen gradient in dipteran species with different sized embryos. Developmental Biology, 316(2), 350-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2008.01.039
• Gregor, T., Wieschaus, E., McGregor, A., Bialek, W., & Tank, D. (2007). Stability and Nuclear Dynamics of the Bicoid Morphogen Gradient. Cell, 130(1), 141-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.05.026
• McGregor, A., Orgogozo, V., Delon, I., Zanet, J., Srinivasan, D., Payre, F., & Stern, D. (2007). Morphological evolution through multiple cis-regulatory mutations at a single gene. Nature, 448(7153), 587-590. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05988
• Wratten, N., McGregor, A., Shaw, P., & Dover, G. (2006). Evolutionary and functional analysis of the tailless enhancer in Musca domestica and Drosophila melanogaster. Evolution & Development, 8(1), 6-15. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-142x.2006.05070.x
• McGregor, A. (2006). Wasps, beetles and the beginning of the ends. BioEssays, 28(7), 683-686. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.20429
• McGregor, A. (2005). How to get ahead: The origin, evolution and function of bicoid. BioEssays, 27(9), 904-913. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.20285
• Shaw, P., Wratten, N., McGregor, A., & Dover, G. (2002). Coevolution in bicoid-dependent promoters and the inception of regulatory incompatibilities among species of higher Diptera. Evolution & Development, 4(4), 265-277. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-142x.2002.02016.x
• Shaw, P., Salameh, A., McGregor, A., Bala, S., & Dover, G. (2001). Divergent structure and function of the bicoid gene in Muscoidea fly species. Evolution & Development, 3(4), 251-262. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-142x.2001.003004251.x
• McGregor, A., Shaw, P., & Dover, G. (2001). Sequence and expression of the hunchback gene in Lucilia sericata: A comparison with other Dipterans. Development Genes and Evolution, 211(6), 315-318. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004270100148
• McGregor, A., Shaw, P., Hancock, J., Bopp, D., Hediger, M., Wratten, N., & Dover, G. (2001). Rapid restructuring of bicoid-dependent hunchback promoters within and between Dipteran species: Implications for molecular coevolution. Evolution & Development, 3(6), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-142x.2001.01043.x