Dr John Mulley

Senior Lecturer in Zoology (Molecular Ecology)

j.mulley@bangor.ac.uk

+44 1248 383492

Dr John Mulley

Evo-Devo@Â鶹Íø

My main research interest is in the way that genomic changes have influenced animal evolution and development. Current research projects focus on the GC-biased mutation in desert rodents, snake venom evolution, and the mechanisms by which the uterine environment can change gene expression in the embryo.

Location: Room E1, 4th floor Brambell Building

Telephone: +44 (0)1248 383492

Personal webpage:

Twitter: @

  • DPhil: The Evolution of Vertebrate ParaHox Genes
    Oxford University, 2007
  • MSc: Biosystematics
    Imperial College London, 2003
  • BSc: Genetics
    University of Liverpool, 2002

Comparative genomics

I have a long-standing interest in vertebrate genome evolution, especially as it relates to gene and genome duplication, and/or the evolution of novelty. Whole genome duplications look likely to have played a significant role in the evolution of vertebrates, and particularly the development of vertebrate innovations, and gene duplication has been an important factor in the origin and diversification of snake venom.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to the evolution of vertebrate homeobox genes; GC-biased mutation in desert rodents; and snake venom evolution, taking advantage of recent advances in long-read sequencing and techniques for the assembly of chromosome-scale genome assemblies such as Hi-C.

Evolution and Development (Evo-Devo)

Changes to embryonic development can have major effects on adult morphology, and the evolution of developmental processes has been a major driver of animal evolution.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to my current research into vertebrate axial patterning, and particularly how the uterine environment might influence numbers and types of vertebrae in mouse models. These projects would require management of rodent breeding programs; collection of embryos; antibody-based hormones assays, and gene/protein expression studies. There is scope for expansion of this research into studies of human and non-human primate vertebral variation.  

Snake venom evolution

The availability of whole genome sequences for multiple snake species is providing unprecedented insight into the processes underlying the origin and diversification of snake venom. Â鶹Íø is one of the few Universities in the UK that maintains a collection of venomous snakes, and this invaluable resource facilitates research into the genetic factors responsible for inter- and intra-species variation in snake venom composition.

Postgraduate opportunities in this area relate to the determination of the gene and genome level mechanisms that drive variation in venom composition within and between species.

2025

  • Published
    Major, T., Jeffrey, L., Limia Russel, G., Bracegirdle, R., Gandini, A., Morgan, R., Marshall, B., Mulley, J. & Wüster, W., 5 Feb 2025, In: PLoS ONE. 20, 2, p. e0310352 22 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Owens, J. B., Wüster, W., Mulley, J., Graham, S., Morgan, R. & Barlow, A., 14 Jan 2025, In: Wellcome Open Research . 10, 11, 13 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

2024

  • Published
    Major, T., Jeffrey, L., Limia Russel, G., Bracegirdle, R., Gandini, A., Morgan, R., Marshall, B. M., Mulley, J. & Wüster, W., 3 Sept 2024, BioRxiv, 29 p.
    Research output: Working paper › Preprint
  • Published
    Mayeur, H., Leyhr, J., Mulley, J., Leurs, N., Michel, L., Sharma, K., Lagadec, R., Aury, J.-M., Osborne, O. G., Mulhair, P., Poulain, J., Mangenot, S., Mead, D., Smith, M., Corton, C., Olive, K., Skelton, J., Betteridge, E., Dolucan, J. & Dudchenko, O. & 17 others, Omer, A. D., Weisz, D., Aiden, E. L., McCarthy, S., Sims, Y., Torrance, J., Tracey, A., Howe, K., Baril, T., Hayward, A., Martinand-Mari, C., Sanchez, S., Haitina, T., Martin, K., Korsching, S. I., Mazan, S. & Debiais-Thibaud, M., 6 Dec 2024, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 41, 12
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2023

  • Published
    Brekke, T. D., Papadopulos, A. S. T., Julia, E., Fornas, O., Fu, B., Yang, F., de la Fuente, R., Page, J., Baril, T., Hayward, A. & Mulley, J., May 2023, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 40, 5, msad115.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Rogerson, G., Bock, S., Loera, Y., Parrott, B. & Mulley, J., 31 Mar 2023, In: Journal of Experimental Biology. 226, 6, jeb245219.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Major, T., Bracegirdle, R., Gandini, A., Limia Russel, G., Pozzi, A., Morgan, R., Mulley, J. & Wüster, W., 17 Jan 2023, In: Herpetology Notes. 16, p. 51-54 4 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Brekke, T. D., Shier, L., Hegarty, M. J. & Mulley, J., Sept 2023, In: Conservation Genetics Resources. 15, 3, p. 117-124 8 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 31 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 43, p. 43
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Mulley, J., Lees, D., programme, W. S. I. T. O. L. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 20 Dec 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 578
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Crowley, L. M., Telfer, M., Geiser, M. & Mulley, J., 13 Apr 2023, Wellcome Open research, p. 169, (Wellcome open research).
    Research output: Working paper › Preprint
  • Published
    Mulley, J. & Boyes, D., 9 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, p. 66
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 12 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 17
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Boyes, D., Mulley, J. F. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 23 Mar 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 129, p. 129 1 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Boyes, D. & Mulley, J., 8 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 63.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 8 Feb 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 65, p. 65
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Boyes, D. & Mulley, J., 31 Jan 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 45
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Falk, S., Mulley, J. F. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 30 Aug 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 373
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Boyes, D., Mulley, J., collective, D. T. O. L. B. & programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., 8 Sept 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 399
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Boyes, D., Mulley, J., collective, D. T. O. L. B. & programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., 12 Oct 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research . 8, 441
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Crowley, L. M., Mulley, J. F., Lab, U. O. O. A. W. W. G. A., collective, D. T. O. L. B., programme, W. S. I. T. O. L., collective, W. S. I. S. O. D. P., collective, T. O. L. C. I. & Consortium, D. T. O. L., 21 Jun 2023, In: Wellcome Open Research. 8, 258
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Falk, S. & Mulley, J., 2 Jun 2023, Wellcome Open research, p. 234, (Wellcome open research).
    Research output: Working paper › Preprint

2022

  • Published
    Mulley, J., Apr 2022, In: Journal of Anatomy. 240, 4, p. 735-745 11 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
  • Published
    Crowley, L. M. & Mulley, J., 5 Jul 2022, Wellcome Open Research , 7, 178, p. 178 1 p.
    Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article

2020

  • Published
    Payne, M., Mulley, J. & Winder, I. C., Apr 2020.
    Research output: Contribution to conference › Abstract › peer-review
  • Published
    Parcana, R., Hargreaves, A. D., Mulley, J. & Holland, P. W. H., 1 Aug 2020, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 37, 8, p. 2197-2210 msaa072.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2019

  • Published
    Brekke, T., Mulley, J., Steele, K., Denver, M., Thom, A. & Supriya, S., Apr 2019, In: Mammalian Genome. 30, 3-4, p. 63-70 8 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Payne, M., Winder, I. C. & Mulley, J., 18 Dec 2019.
    Research output: Contribution to conference › Poster › peer-review
  • Published
    Mulley, J. F., Nov 2019, In: BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology. 41, 11
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Zancolli, G., Calvete, J. J., Cardwell, M. D., Greene, H. W., Hayes, W. K., Hegarty, M. J., Herrmann, H.-W., Holycross, A. T., Lannutti, D. I., Mulley, J. F., Sanz, L., Travis, Z. D., Whorley, J. R., Wuster, C. E. & Wuster, W., 13 Mar 2019, In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286, 1898, p. 20182735
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2018

  • Published
    Brekke, T., Steele, K. & Mulley, J., 1 Feb 2018, In: G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics. 8, 2, p. 679-686
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Hawkins, P., McBride, A., Paiba, G., Rose, R., Prescott, M. J., Mulley, J., Izzard, S., Ridley, D., Kappel, S., Melotti, L. & Hubrecht, R., Oct 2018, In: Animal Technology and Welfare. 17, 2, p. 75-42
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2017

  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D., Zhou, L., Christensen, J., Marletaz, F., Liu, S., Li, F., Jansen, P. G., Spiga, E., Hansen, M. T., Pedersen, S. V. H., Biswas, S., Seriwaka, K., Fox, B. A., Taylor, W. R., Mulley, J., Zhang, G., Heller, R. S. & Holland, P. W. H., 18 Jul 2017, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America: PNAS. 114, 29, p. 7677–7682
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2016

  • Published
    Braasch, I., Gehrke, A. R., Smith, J. J., Kawasaki, K., Manousaki, T., Pasquier, J., Amores, A., Desvignes, T., Batzel, P., Catchen, J., Berlin, A. M., Campbell, M. S., Barrell, D., Martin, K. J., Mulley, J. F., Ravi, V., Lee, A. P., Nakamura, T., Chalopin, D. & Fan, S. & 41 others, Wcisel, D., Cañestro, C., Sydes, J., Beaudry, F. E., Sun, Y., Hertel, J., Beam, M. J., Fasold, M., Ishiyama, M., Johnson, J., Kehr, S., Lara, M., Letaw, J. H., Litman, G. W., Litman, R. T., Mikami, M., Ota, T., Saha, N. R., Williams, L., Stadler, P. F., Wang, H., Taylor, J. S., Fontenot, Q., Ferrara, A., Searle, S. M., Aken, B., Yandell, M., Schneider, I., Yoder, J. A., Volff, J., Meyer, A., Amemiya, C. T., Venkatesh, B., Holland, P. W., Guiguen, Y., Bobe, J., Shubin, N. H., Di Palma, F., Alföldi, J., Lindblad-Toh, K. & Postlethwait, J. H., 7 Mar 2016, In: Nature Genetics.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2015

  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D., Tucker, A. S., Mulley, J. F., Gopalakrishnakone, P. (Editor) & Malhotra, M. (Editor), 8 Aug 2015, Evolution of Venomous Animals and Their Toxins: Toxicology. Springer Netherlands, p. 1-15
    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter
  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D. & Mulley, J. F., 24 Nov 2015, In: PeerJ. p. e1441
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2014

  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D. & Mulley, J. F., 27 Aug 2014, In: Toxicon. 90, p. 351-353
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Mulley, J. F. & Holland, P. W., 1 Sept 2014, In: Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Developmental Evolution. 322, 6, p. 352-358
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D., Swain, M. T., Hegarty, M. J., Logan, D. W. & Mulley, J. F., 30 Jul 2014, In: Genome Biology and Evolution. 6, 8, p. 2088-2095
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Hargreaves, A. D., Swain, M. T., Logan, D. W. & Mulley, J. F., 17 Oct 2014, In: Toxicon. 92, p. 140-156
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Mulley, J. F., Hargreaves, A. D., Hegarty, M. J., Heller, R. S. & Swain, M. T., 6 Dec 2014, In: BMC Genomics. 15, 1074
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2010

  • Published
    Mulley, J. F. & Holland, P. W., 12 May 2010, In: Molecular Biology and Evolution. 27, 10, p. 2386-2391
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2009

  • Published
    Mulley, J. F., Zhong, Y. F. & Holland, P. W., 2 Sept 2009, In: BMC Evolutionary Biology. 9, p. 218
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2008

  • Published
    Furlong, R. F. & Mulley, J. F., 25 Oct 2008, In: Zoological Science. 25, 10, p. 955-9 5 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

2006

  • Published
    Mulley, J. F., Chiu, C.-H. & Holland, P. W. H., 5 Jul 2006, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 103, 27, p. 10369-72 4 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2004

  • Published
    Mulley, J. & Holland, P., 21 Oct 2004, In: Nature. 431, 7011, p. 916-7 2 p.
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
  • Published
    Daly, D., Waltham, K., Mulley, J., Watts, P., Rosin, A., Kemp, S. & Saccheri, I., Jun 2004, In: Molecular Ecology Notes. 4, 2, p. 179-181
    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2023

  • 25 Jul 2023 – 27 Jul 2023

    Activity: Participation in Academic conference (Organiser)

  • 01/06/2019 – 30/09/2023 (Finished)

  • 01/02/2019 – 30/06/2020 (Finished)

  • 01/11/2017 – 31/12/2017 (Finished)

  • 01/11/2017 – 15/03/2018 (Finished)

  • 01/02/2017 – 30/05/2018 (Finished)

  • 01/06/2016 – 01/08/2019 (Finished)

  • 01/04/2011 – 31/08/2012 (Finished)

  • 01/02/2011 – 31/03/2013 (Finished)

  • 01/08/2010 – 31/08/2014 (Finished)