Molecular Ecology
Microbes matter: “Understanding the behaviour of complex microbial communities in their natural environments is key to improving human, animal and environmental health, and therefore quality of life. This is what drives me: microbes matter – seemingly simple bugs that sparkle in their complexity.”
Research and education within the Microbial Ecology Group aims to understand and explore the functioning of microorganisms in natural and man-made ecosystems, including interdependencies with their living and non-living environments. Key research issues include:
- Microbiota associated with body surfaces (gut, skin, mouth) in humans, livestock, rodent-animal models, companion animals and wildlife
- Microbial communities in environmental biotechnology
- Microbes and their cellular biomarkers as proxies for ecosystem life history and environmental change, embracing a OneHealth perspective
Activities focus on innovative cultivation-based and molecular approaches aimed at understanding microbial composition and functionality at the system level, including the application of next-generation sequencing.
Marine Microbial Ecology
If we view ourselves or any other eukaryote without taking associated bacteria into account it is as if we look into a distorting mirror. Because something of the significant “other” that makes part of the “self” is missing.
Microbiome, Mucus & Milk
Microbiome Mucus & Milk aims to understand the way microbial species in the gastrointestinal tract are able to degrade host-produced glycans (human milk and mucus).
Microbiome, Lumen & Diet
Microbiome, Lumen & Diet aims to identify and exploit the ecological concepts that define the microbiota composition and function of the human intestine, notably those residing in different luminal parts of the small- and large intestine, as they are expected to be in direct contact with the food we consume.
Intestinal Microbiology in Early Life
Intestinal Microbiology in Early Life is exploring the impact of the microbiota on human physiology and, specifically, the development of the intestinal microbiota in early infancy.
GI Livestock & Wildlife
GI Livestock & wildlife studies the composition and activity of GI microbiota in livestock, companion animals and wildlife. The research is also examining the microbiota’s interaction with their host in relation to animal nutrition, health and performance. Furthermore, the environmental footprint of livestock production is being investigated to contribute to more-sustainable livestock production by reducing methane emissions from ruminants and developing alternatives to antibiotics.
Environmental Health
Environmental health aims to provide a systems-level understanding of how environmental pollutants affect microbial functioning, and to develop and apply molecular diagnostics for the monitoring of key microbes and their metabolic activity. Research includes microbial processes pivotal to effective bioremediation of environmental pollutants, processes that depend upon the concerted interactive network of microbial consortia that are present or introduced in(to) contaminated environments.