Projects
Antibiotic tolerance in Escherichia coli: functional characterisation and single-cell analysis of stochastic gene expression of a new persistence gene. KU Leuven
Understanding chromosome conformation, 3D nuclear DNA architecture and gene expression in human embryogenesis at single-cell resolution KU Leuven
Our understanding of the organisation of DNA present in a cell’s nucleus into higher order structures is rudimentary, but crucial to comprehend varying gene expression and phenotypes of cells in normal and diseased conditions. In particular in the first cell cycles of life following fertilisation drastic changes occur in the DNA architecture of nuclei as well as in gene expression, whereby cells become committed and restricted in contributing ...
Exploring the missing link between traits and the genome: a full-genome gene expression approach to understand the molecular underpinning of anti-predator strategies in the water flea Daphnia. KU Leuven
Expanding the portfolio of bacterial hosts for industrial biotechnology through the development of a cross-bacterial, orthogonal and tunable gene expression system. Ghent University
Development of commercially viable microbial cell factories is currently limited by high costs and long time-to-market relative to other production routes. One cause is an over-reliance on non-optimal model organisms such as E. coli which often results in longer development times and high associated costs. In this context, the lack of extensive and standardised genetic parts and tools to control gene expression for predictable engineering in ...
Is stochastic gene expression linked to persistence in bacteria? A combined fluorescence and 'tip enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) study. KU Leuven
A new family of nuclear receptors in Tetranychus urticae, master regulators of gene expression in a polyphagous pest? Ghent University
The spider mite Tetranychus urticae is a serious crop pest with an exceptional ability to metabolize the toxins it encounters in the environment. This allows spider mites to thrive on a remarkable number of different plant species, but also to rapidly develop resistance to acaricides that are used for their control. Spider mites can quickly change the expression of detoxification genes upon exposure and adaptation to toxins. Recently, we ...
When Genomes Team Up: investigation of the immediate effects of alloploidization on fitness and gene expression Ghent University
Alloploids are organisms that have multiple genome sets originating from at least two parental species. Allopolyploid plants seem to have wider ecological ranges than their diploid progenitors and have the ability to exploit new habitats. Little is known about the mechanism behind this change in environmental tolerance. The alloploid plasticity hypothesis suggests that allopolyploids can maintain a high fitness in various ecological contexts ...