Projects
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
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 ...
Conflict and cooperation between ants and ant-associated arthropods. KU Leuven
An intimate association between two species is known as a symbiosis. A symbiotic relationship where both partners benefit is defined as a mutualism. This is in contrast with parasitism, where one partner benefits at the expense of another partner. Commensalism is a third type of symbiotic association and is characterized by one partner that takes advantage of the association and the other is unaffected. These different types of symbioses are ...
Analysis of the immune destructive potential of Trypanosoma brucei infections, with a focus on loss of vaccine-induced immunological memory. Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Individual variation and evolutionary potential of parasite traits in a songbird-tick system: direct and indirect genetic effects. University of Antwerp
Impact of ZEB2 on specification, zonation and regeneration of liver sinusoidal endothelium KU Leuven
Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) are a highly specialized type of endothelial cells (ECs) characterized by a high permeability due to the presence of transcellular pores, called fenestrations, a poorly developed basement membrane, and high expression levels of scavenger receptors. Due to this high permeability and their position at the interface between blood and hepatocytes, LSECs act as a selective filter of the blood, allowing ...