Projects
The role of microbial symbionts in host plant use and spectrum in oligophagous cucurbit feeding fruit flies (Tephritidae). University of Antwerp
Population structure, transmission and host specificity in a nidicolous ectoparasite, the tick Ixodes arboricola. University of Antwerp
Laboulbeniales hyperparasitic fungi of bat flies: host specificity and patterns of speciation Ghent University
This is a story about hyperparasitism: flies that live as parasites on bats in turn serve as hosts for small ectoparasitic fungi, the Laboulbeniales. Laboulbeniales fungi are microscopic, obscure, and understudied, even neglected by the mycological community. The small community of researchers studying Laboulbeniales primarily focus on taxonomy (description of species) and ecology (effects of the fungi on their hosts). With this project, we ...
Unraveling the in vivo host cell tropism and virus dissemination strategies of human norovirus. KU Leuven
Human noroviruses (HuNoVs) are the most common cause of gastroenteritis, resulting in 219,000 deaths/year and a societal cost of $60 billion. The lack of robust small animal models has hindered the understanding of norovirus biology and the development of effective therapeutics. Our team has recently established the most simple and robust HuNoV replication model available to date, by using zebrafish larvae. Since zebrafish larvae are small ...
The evolution of phenotypic plasticity in host tolerance and its implications for foodweb structure Ghent University
Plant-associated animal communities are characterised by a high degree of and variability in host specialization. The extent of this plasticity will evolve due to selection pressures relates to the costs of plasticity, the scale of the landscape and the level of dispersal. By applying stochastic modeling approaches, the evolution of phenotypic plasticity duri
The evolution of phenotypic plasticity in host tolerance and its implications for foodweb structure Ghent University
Plant-associated animal communities are characterised by a high degree of and variability in host specialization. The extent of this plasticity will evolve due to selection pressures relates to the costs of plasticity, the scale of the landscape and the level of dispersal. By applying stochastic modeling approaches, the evolution of phenotypic plasticity during static and range expansion dynamics under climate change will be studied.
Odysseus F. Impens: Proteomics-based characterization of the protein interplay between pathogenic bacteria and their host Ghent University
Special Research Fund support for Odysseus laureate F. Impens
Identification and characterization of salivary effectors in Tetranychus urticae: understanding host plant manipulation in search of novel crop protection tools. Ghent University
Spider mites are tiny plant-feeding animals that cause major damage in agriculture. Unlike most other pests, spider mites can feed on an extraordinary range of different plants. This is remarkable since these plants often produce many different toxic compounds as a defense against plant feeding animals. Recently it was found that mites may use simple tricks to cope with the defenses of plants: rather than trying to detoxify all those ...
SRP (Groeiers): Evolutionary innovations in amphibians: from ecology to molecules Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Theme 1. - Natural History and Evolution - Research leader: Prof. Dr. Franky Bossuyt Majortechnicalspecialization:molecular phylogenetics
Theme 2. - Amphibian Toxinology - Research leader: Prof. Dr. Kim Roelants Major technical ...