Title Promoter Affiliations Abstract "Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) based analysis of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) producing microorganisms in activated sludge" "Jolien D'aes" "Environmental Ecology & Applied Microbiology (ENdEMIC), Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)" "Production of poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA) bioplastic by activated sludge is a promising strategy for valorization of wastewater, which could simultaneously lower the still too high production cost of PHAs. The aim of this project is to develop a fast and reliable quantitative PCR assay for routine analysis of PHA producing microorganisms in activated sludge." "High-throughput multiplex quantitative PCR" "Bernard Thienpont" "Department of Human Genetics" "Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a mainstay of genomic research: it enables a range of analyses that complement or support genome-, transcriptome- and epigenome-wide analyses. qPCR is required to accurately calibrate mixtures of sequencing library, to assess expression of selected genes in a multitude of biological samples, to quantify locus-specific DNA methylation in a bisulfite-independent manner, to measure the level of histone modifications at prespecified regions, to confirm DNA copy number changes in DNA samples with putative aneuploidies and for a range of other applications. While originally developed to measure a single target at a time, advances in the past decades have enabled the analysis of up to 5 targets in a single reaction. Given the pivotal nature of these analyses and the growing need for accurate qPCR measurements in the expanding genomic research, we here request a state-of-the-art qPCR instrument with the capability to analyze multiplexed reactions." "Development of a microfluidics based method for qualitative and quantitative assessment of phages for phage therapy, a phage measurement device for you" "Stefan Vermeulen" "Health and Water Technology" "Development of an automated qualitative and quantitative analysis of phage for phage therapy, a phage measurement device for personalized treatment. Phage therapy is one of the few alternatives for the treatment of multiple antibiotic resistance. Although available in different parts of the world since its discovery about 100 years ago, phage therapy to date is based on very labor-intensive laboratory manipulations. The main technique is the Double Agar Overlay (DAO) method used to verify that phages can kill off bacteria." "Living the Granular Life! Microbial ecology of biological phosphorus removal in granular sludge systems." "Jan Dries" "Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE)" "Aerobic granular sludge (AGS) represents a true revolution in the field of biological wastewater treatment with significant advantages in comparison to conventional activated sludge, such as low energy use, small footprint, process efficiency, recovery of biopolymers & phosphorus...).The granulation process relies on the specific metabolism of carbon-storing bacteria, such as polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAO). The most intensively studied PAOs in AGS are Accumulibacter species, but these bacteria have a very narrow substrate range (i.c. the volatile fatty acids VFA acetate and propionate). Other abundant putative PAOs using broader substrate ranges have been identified in (conventional) biological wastewater treatment systems, but their role in granulation and biopolymer formation remains unexplored.The main objective of the current proposal is to investigate (1) the formation of AGS, and (2) the production of the valuable gel-forming alginate-like extracellular polysaccharides (ALE), in well-defined enrichments of putative PAOs, other than Accumulibacter, by applying carbon substrates other than the VFAs acetate and propionate. Advanced microbial analyses, i.e. quantitative PCR (qPCR) and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing analysis, will be used to monitor taxonomic composition of the microbial community in the sludge during the enrichments.The results of the project will have a significant impact on the development of the aerobic granular sludge technology. The results will help define the application potential of the technology, by pointing out the type of wastewaters that can be treated. Increased knowledge of the key PAOs involved in granulation is also very useful in view of the optimization of the treatment process as it allows tuning the reactor operation in favor of the desired PAO."