Projects
Application potential of autochthonous fish populations for biological control of dipteran nuisance species in flooding areas. University of Antwerp
Breaking the silence after the storm: the amphibian response to an emerging infectious disease Ghent University
Counteracting the loss of biodiversity presents one of the defining challenges of our time.
Amphibian declines have become iconic of global extinctions, and two lethal pathogenic chytrid
fungi - Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and B. salamandrivorans (Bsal) - are implicated among
the main factors driving their demise. The former caused extensive extirpations in frogs, but the
latter emerged recently and is ...
Untangling the drivers of parasite diversity along gradients of natural and anthropogenic variables in a tropical crater-lake system (Kasenda, Uganda). Ghent University
Biodiversity loss caused by human activities threatens the capacity of ecosystems worldwide to
provide essential ecological services. Hence, a growing effort is directed at understanding the
consequences of anthropogenic disturbances for biodiversity. Parasitic organisms have so far been
widely overlooked in this effort, even though parasitism is the most common feeding strategy on
Earth. One group of parasites with ...
Molecular analysis of the radial auxin transport mechanisms that_x000D_ underly lateral root spacing Ghent University
The root system of plants is critically important for growth and survival and has been key to the success of the colonization of land by higher plants. The main functions of roots are that they anchor plants in the soil and that they allow to forage the soil for water and nutrients. The root system of many plants consists of a long primary root with regularly spaced lateral branches to optimize water and nutrient uptake. The regular pattern ...
Modelling Fluid-Structure Interactions in the vestibular system of lizards. University of Antwerp
Evolutionary biomechanics of the vestibular system of lizards: a modelling approach University of Antwerp
Role of gut microbiota in driving adaptation to changing and polluted environments: the case of Daphnia adaptation to cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms. KU Leuven
The gut microbiota is an important source of metabolic innovations for animal hosts, and is increasingly considered as a key factor that may drive adaptation to the fast and drastic environmental changes imposed by human activities and global warming. This emerging hypothesis, however, lacks strong empirical support. Predicting how, and to what extent, the gut microbiota may drive adaptation requires to understand how gut symbionts affect ...
Study of yeast invertases for changing fructan levels in bread KU Leuven
Saccharomyces cerevisiae invertase (ScInv) is a β-fructofuranosidase encoded by different, closely related SUC genes and classified within the family 32 of glycoside hydrolases. ScInv prefers sucrose as a substrate but also hydrolyses raffinose, fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) and short-chain fructans. Invertase produced by baker’s yeast plays and important role during breadmaking. It is responsible for setting free those sugars that yield most ...
Investigation of the influence of prophages on the physiology and virulence of emerging invasive non-typhoid Salmonella Typhimurium (iNTS) KU Leuven
Bacteria are engaged in a never-ending struggle with their viral predators, termed bacteriophages or phages. This resulted in millennia of intimate co-evolution between bacteria and their viruses, thereby fueling the development of sophisticated infection dynamics. One of these peculiar interactions, is the formation of a phage carrier state by temperate phage P22 upon infection of its host, Salmonella Typhimurium. This phenomenon ...