Dr Richard Taylor

Post-doctoral research

I am a full-time BBSRC core-funded scientist in the Macqueen group. My current interests lie in applying a range of bioinformatic and comparative approaches to key questions in genomic evolution, in addition to single cell transcriptomic analysis.

In particular, the unique evolutionary history of the Salmonidae, combined with the recent availability of extensive genomic and transcriptomic resources in this group, presents an exciting opportunity to better understand the impact of whole genome duplication events on organismal evolution.

Biography and previous work

I have an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Complexity Science, both from the University of Bristol. For my PhD, I studied the evolution of microRNAs across the plant kingdom, during which time I developed a range of skills in evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, and bioinformatics. I then spent two years as a bioinformatician at the University of Edinburgh, analyzing single cell transcriptomic data generated from experiments aimed at bettering our understanding the genetics of regeneration in liver and heart.

Publications (from Macqueen lab)

See all publications here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=IDogKWEAAAAJ&hl=en

Taylor RS, Ruiz Daniels R, Macqueen DJ. 2025. Cell type resolved expression of duplicate genes retained from whole genome duplication in Atlantic salmon. Genome Biol. Evol. evaf076. doi: 10.1093/gbe/evaf076.

Andresen AMS *, Taylor RS *, Grimholt U, Ruiz Daniels R, Sun J, Dobie R, Henderson NC, Martin SAM, Macqueen DJ *, Fosse JH. 2024. Mapping the cellular landscape of Atlantic salmon head kidney by single cell and single nucleus transcriptomics. Fish Shellfish Immunol. 109357. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109357. * Joint first author

Sun J, Ruiz Daniels R, Balic A, Andresen AMS, Bjørgen H, Dobie R, Henderson NC, Koppang EO, Martin SAM, Fosse JH, Taylor RS, Macqueen DJ. 2024. Cell atlas of the Atlantic salmon spleen reveals immune cell heterogeneity and cell-specific responses to bacterial infection. Fish Shellfish Immunol. 109358. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109358.

Matz H, Taylor RS, Redmond AK, Hill TM, Ruiz Daniels R, Beltran M, Henderson NC, Macqueen DJ, Dooley H. 2023. Organized B cell sites in cartilaginous fishes reveal the evolutionary foundation of germinal centers. Cell Reports. 42: 112664

Ruiz Daniels R, Taylor RS, Dobie, R, Salisbury S, Clark E, Macqueen DJ, Robledo D. 2023. A versatile nuclei extraction protocol for single nucleus sequencing in non-model species – optimization in various Atlantic salmon tissues. PLoS One. 7: 18: e0285020. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285020

Ruiz Daniels R, Taylor RT, Robledo D, Macqueen DJ. 2023. Single cell genomics as a transformative approach for aquaculture research and innovation. Reviews in Aquaculture. https://doi.org/10.1111/raq.12806

Taylor RT, Ruiz Daniels R, Dobie R, Naseer S, Clark T, Henderson N, Boudinot P, Martin SA, Macqueen DJ. 2022. Single cell transcriptomics of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) liver reveals cellular heterogeneity and immunological responses to challenge by Aeromonas salmonicida. Front. Immunol. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.984799

Taylor RS, Ruiz Daniels R, Perojil Morata D, Gundappa MK, Macqueen DJ. 2021. Evolution of ray-finned fish genomes: Status and directions with a primer on microRNA characterization. In: Cellular and Molecular Approaches in Fish Biology (Editors: Ignacio Fernandez & Jorge Fernandes). Academic Press. ISBN: 9780128222737 (In Production)