Research Interests Molecular microbial ecology in the gastrointestinal tract; functional and comparative genomics of gut bacteria; comparative digestive physiology and metabolism. Mission Statement Dr. Mackie is advancing animal health, biofuel production, and food safety through his research in microbiology. His work focuses on anaerobic microbiology and fermentations, molecular microbial ecology in gut ecosystems, degradation of plant cell wall polymers and biomass, nitrogen metabolism, anaerobic waste digestion, and antibiotic resistance genes.