Projects
Genetical genomics: a study of gene expression patterns in familial Crohn's disease Ghent University
It is widely accepted that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) emerges from the interaction of a number of genes resulting in an overactive immune response towards intestinal bacteria. Standard methodologies to unravel the genetic factors contribting to susceptibility to IBD are able to point out the gross chromosomal regions involved, but they put forward no evidence about the actual causal variants. Therefore, little can be said about their ...
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 ...
Understanding 3D nuclear DNA architecture and gene expression in single cells: a comprehensive survey in the first days of life. 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 human and animal life following fertilisation drastic changes occur in the DNA architecture of nuclei as well as in gene expression, whereby cells become committed and ...
Gene expression profiling reveals potential biomarkers for early detection of DNA damage. University of Antwerp
Is stochastic gene expression linked to persistence in bacteria? A combined fluorescence and 'tip enhanced Raman scattering (TERS) study. KU Leuven
Gene expression profiling in the gastrointestinal system of normal and intra-uterine growth restricted pigs: a strategy to understand the molecular machinery underlying intestinal changes in preterm babies. University of Antwerp
Studying global gene expression changes during hematopoietic development to identify novel regulators of hematopoietic stem cell function KU Leuven
Self-renewal and differentiation are the two primary attributes of all kinds of stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are multi-potent stem cells that are responsible for producing all blood cells throughout the lifetime of an organism. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is an effective method for treatment of hematopoietic disorders including leukemia and other hematopoietic malignancies, as well as immunodeficiencies. The ...
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 ...