2/9/2013
1
1. Genomic diversity and local adaptation in Alnus glutinosa
The study of genome wide patterns in nucleotide variation reveals both local
d t ti d t l ti di itadaptation and neutral genetic diversity between populations. Such an approach may be particularly useful to assess current adaptation to climate and the potential to adapt to future climate conditions.
The association of exceptional marker variation with phenotypic and environmental variation willand environmental variation will provide insight into adaptation. This is especially relevant for Alnus glutionsa, a tree species that occurs from the cold north to the warm south.
Supervisor: Hanne De Kort
General objectivesWe will examine both adaptive and neutral genetic variation between Belgian and foreign (Italian, Danish and French) populations.
Our most important research questions are:
• Is Alnus glutinosa adapted to its local growing conditions?
• How genetically diverged are
?
?g y gAlnus populations, and are the observed patterns different in Flanders than abroad?
• What are the consequences in the light of climate change?
?
2/9/2013
2
Methodology• Measurement of seedling characteristics in a common garden • Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis based on DNA
from leaves, and calculation of genetic parameters .
• Compare seedling characteristics (Qst) with marker (SNP) patterns (Fst) to derive natural selection (Qst-Fst)• Compare common garden approach with genomicapproach
2. The effect of different green roof substrates on drought-adapted Mediterranean plant species
Promotor: Prof. Honnay
Co-promotor: Prof. Hermy
Supervisor: Van Mechelen CarmenSupervisor: Van Mechelen Carmen
Problem statement
Green roofs show a remarkable rise in urban areas due to the range of benefits they offer. The concept is relatively new and many problems, including optimal material- and plant selection still need to be solved. Although much research is done on the effect of substrate depth, projects that test the effect of different substrate types on the vegetation are scarceare scarce.
Goal:
Test Mediterranean plant species under different substrate types:
-Traditional extensive green roof substrate (TS)
-TS with supplemented organic material
-TS enriched with mycorrhiza
2/9/2013
3
The experiment, which will take place on the roof of a KU Leuven building, will be set up during spring.
The student will monitor vegetation performance and environmental variables : % survival, growth, vegetation cover, flowering dynamics, weather conditions, soil temperature and humidity…
This thesis is a collaboration between the Faculty of Biology and the Di i i f F t N t d L d (BNL) f th F lt f BiDivision of Forest, Nature and Landscape (BNL) of the Faculty of Bio-engineering.
Peltracom n.v. , the substrate supplier, is an international enterprise with a large assortment of products for landscaping and public green. Results of the experiment are of great interest for the market value of their green roof products.
3. Mycorrhizal fungi and bacteria for a sustainable fruit culture
Fruit farms face two major problems:
i) increasingly stringent requirements regarding the use of fertilizers and pesticidespesticides
ii) soil exhaustion, also known as the replant disease.
.
Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)facilitate the uptake of soil phosphate,water and other essential elements fromth il d th f l tthe soil and they may suppress of plant-pathogenic soil fungi and nematodes.
Aims: (i) select AMF species thatenhance apple fruit production and (ii)investigate the effect of bacteria on theAMF association. Supervisor: Maarten Van Geel
2/9/2013
4
Part1
o Examine to what extent the ex situ cultivation of AMF's is possible
o Inoculation experiments of apple seedlings to screen AMF's for their effect on growth, protection against environmental stress and the control of soil diseases
Part 2
o The bacterial community associated with apple roots will be characterized using next-generation sequencing. This way, both potential pathogens and mutualists of apple trees can be identifiedtrees can be identified.
o The bacterial community will be related to the AMF community to identify possible associations between the two
o Examine which environmental factors have an influence on the bacterial community
4. Detection of invasive plant species using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing
Crucial in biodiversity conservation:
1) development of early warning systems for alien plant invasions and 2) further investigations of their impacts on ecosystem function and
services
Recent developments in hyperspectral remote sensing allow the development of high resolution distribution maps of individual invasive species and give direct insight in the changes of the biomass chemistry of invaded ecosystems, and hence in changes in the functioning of ecosystems.
services.
Invasion of Morella on Hawai
2/9/2013
5
1) Hyperspectral characteristics of both important invasive plant species and their co-occurring plant species will be measured throughout the growing season.
2) Separability of spectral signals will be determined using existing unmixing algorithms
3) Leaf chemical analyses will be performed.
This approach will allow to detect the most appropriate time window to detect certain invasive plant species, and to link hyperspectral signals to biochemical composition of the leaves.
5. Local coadaptation in the mutualistic interaction between Bird vetch (Vicia cracca) and Rhizobium
leguminosarum
Rhizobia supply leguminose plant species with Nitrogen through a mutualistic interaction
Populations differing in environmental conditions will contain differently coadapted mutualists. Geographic mosaic of coevolution theory predicts: mutualists only well matched in own local community
You will test this hypothesis with the model system Rhizobium leguminosarum model system Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae, which lives in symbiosis withthe plant species Vicia cracca (Vogelwikke)
We test for Coadaptation along an N-deposition gradient
Supervisor: Jannick Van CauwenberghePromotor: Olivier Honnay
2/9/2013
6
Rhizobia from Vicia cracca populations along a Nitrogen deposition gradient throughout Europe have already been collected
Genotyping of Rhizobium strains through Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR)
Several genes will be sequenced:◦ Chromosomal
MethodsMethods
◦ Plasmid
Relate Rhizobium diversity to N-deposition
Measuring mutualistic performance and fitness differences of several combinations of Rhizobium genotypes with plants from different Vicia cracca populations in in vitroconditions.
Centre of Microbial and Plant Genetics
2/9/2013
7
6. Abiotische tolerantiegrenzen van een aantal subtypen van laaggelegen schraal hooiland (Alopecurus
pratensis, Sanguisorba officinalis)
EU – habitatrichtlijn vegetatietype; te beschermen in Vlaanderen
Locaties in Vlaanderen? Afbakening op basis vanLocaties in Vlaanderen? Afbakening op basis van bodem/watertafel?
13
Standplaatsonderzoek
• Veldwerk: vegetatie-opnamen, water- en bodemstalen nemen, hydrologie opmeten (peilbuizen)• Multivariaat verwerken van de data, database management• Karteren locaties (GIS)
Meetlocaties Alopecurion 2012
14
2/9/2013
8
7. Effects of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) diversity on the Arabica coffee yield quality and
quantity in SW Ethiopian afromontane rainforests
Coffee: second most traded commodity in the worldy
Coffea arabica: origin in mountain rainforest of SW Ethiopia
Intensity of coffee management in Ethiopia strongly differs
Forest coffee Plantation coffee
P-uptake
Disease resistance
Coffee quality
454 sequencing : Library design with AMF specific amplicons
Management intensity
AMF diversity
Coffee quantity
2/9/2013
9
Field trip to Ethiopia, Jimma (September-October) IRO grant (deadline 18/03)Coffee bean yield quantification, harvest beans Laboratory work: determine the quality of coffee
beans (HPLC) (chlorogenic acid, trigonoline & cafeine)
Statistical analysis: relate AMF diversity/canopy characteristics/soil characteristics to yield quality and quantity
Population viability of Round-leaved wintergreen (Pyrola rotundifolia)
Round-leaved wintergreen is a rare and declining plant species in Flanders. The species occurs predominantly in dunes along the Flemish coast predominantly in dunes along the Flemish coast, where it can be mostly found in the immediate vicinity of small shrubs (mainly Salix sp.).
Most populations are small and the species is dependent on mycorrhizal fungi for growth and survival. However, at present little is known about the ecological factors that determine seed set, germination and subsequent seedling establishment in this species.
2/9/2013
10
1) characterize the growth places of all known wintergreen populations along
The major aim of this thesis is to get better insights into the reproductive ecology and germination of Pyrola rotundifolia. More specifcally, you will:
known wintergreen populations along the Flemish coast using detailed vegetation surveys;
2) determine population size, density, and demographic structure;
3) assess the fitness of each population by making detailed measurements of fruit and seed set; and seed set;
4) investigate to what extent mycorrhizal fungi are limiting population size of the species.
Supervisor: Rein Brys ([email protected])Promotor: Hans Jacquemyn ([email protected])
Sex Ratio Variation and the Advantage of being Female
in the gynodioecious Plantago coronopus
Gynodioecy is a sexual mating system in flowering l t i hi h f l ( l t th t l k ll plants in which females (plants that lack pollen
production) and hermaphrodites occur within the same populations.
Theoretically, females can only exist when they have a reproductive advantage relative to hermaphrodites. However, females need pollen from hermaphrodites to produce seeds and hence can have a disadvantage
h h f l l i h when there are too many female plants in the population.
2/9/2013
11
The aim of this Master thesis is to assess
sex ratio variation in natural populations of
Plantago coronopus and to establish whether
female plants have a reproductive advantage
over hermaphrodites.
The following questions will be addressed…The following questions will be addressed…
Are there large differences in sex ratios between populations?
How do these different sex ratios affect the female reproductive advantage?
Does the female advantage manifest itself in higher seed production or in better seed quality?
I. Visit at least 30 populations along the Belgian coast (June-September 2013)
Methodology
III E bli h h h h i
II. Assess the sex ratios in all populations
III. Establish whether there is a female advantage in seed production (field) or in seed quality (greenhouse)
Supervisor: Sascha van der Meer ([email protected])Promotor: Hans Jacquemyn ([email protected])
2/9/2013
12
It is known that habitat fragmentation can influence population characteristics whereby plant
Impact of plant and population characteristics on the Impact of plant and population characteristics on the pollination succees of the rare orchid pollination succees of the rare orchid Epipactis palustrisEpipactis palustris
influence population characteristics whereby plant reproduction and fitness are seriously affected.
You will study the impact of plant and population characteristics on the pollination process of the rare orchid Epipactis palustris what is currently unknown.
Laboratory of Plant EcologySupervisor: Sofie VrankenPromotor: Hans Jacquemyn
MethodologyMethodology
Measurement of plant (# flowers, height, …) andpopulation characteristics (size, density, isolation, …)
Sampling and determination of pollinators
Measurement of pollination success and pollenlimitation under natural conditions by performingsupplemental pollinations
Measurement of the level of inbreeding depressionby comparing seed set, seed mass and seed qualityafter experimental self- and cross-pollination
Statistical analysis
2/9/2013
13
Habitat fragmentation may affect plant-pollinatorinteractions and reproductive output in plants, due todifferences in pollen quality and quantity In this research
Impact of habitat fragmentation on pollination success and offspring fitness in the rare Carlina vulgaris
differences in pollen quality and quantity. In this researchyou will study the consequences of habitat fragmentation(such as reduced population size and plant density, increasingisolation, etc.) on pollination success and seed set in the rarecalcareous grassland plant, Carlina vulgaris.
Co-promotor: Rein Brys ([email protected]) Promotor: Hans Jacquemyn,
AimsAims1. Investigation of the breeding system of C.
vulgaris (capacity for autonomous selfing, selfing-vs. cross-pollination).
2. Determination of population characteristicsand pollinator community in a large number ofand pollinator community in a large number ofnatural populations in theViroin valley.
3. Quantifying the amount of pollen limitation andsuccessful seed set in these natural populations.
4. Measurement of the impact of inbreedingdepression on seed quality, germination success,seedling survival, and offspring fitness…
2/9/2013
14
1. Determination of populationcharacteristics and pollinator communities,
2. In field - supplemental pollinationopen pollination
+MethodologyMethodology
- open pollination
Pollen limitation
3. In greenhouse - selfing- outcrossing
Inbreeding depression
via measurement of :- seed set & seed mass- seed germination & survival- offspring fitness
Hybridization in plants may affect the resistance/ palatabilityof the new generated hybrids making them better/poorer
Interspecific hybridization of plants and resistance to herbivores: preference and performance of a specialist vs. generalist herbivore on two related
Centaurium species and their hybrids
In this research you will study theresistance/palatability of two closelyrelated Centaurium species and theirreciprocal hybrids on two types ofherbivores (specialist vs generalist)
of the new generated hybrids, making them better/pooreradapted to natural enemies (such as herbivores) than theirparental species. Host plants
herbivores (specialist vs. generalist).
Herbivores generalist
specialist
C. littorale C. erythraea
2/9/2013
15
AimsAims1. Investigation resistance/palatibility of each of the
parental species and hybrids on both herbivores(use of “choice” experiments),
2. Quantifying herbivore performance in each ofthe different host plants (use of “no choice”the different host plants (use of no choiceexperiments),
3. Determination of morphological features andchemical compounds of leaves from the parentalspecies and hybrids,
4. Examining amount of natural infection in the field.
“No choice” “Choice”
1. Experimental offering of parental species and hybrid plants incombination (“choice”) or alone (“no-choice”) to determinepalatability/resistance (amount of infection and damage),
2. Determination of herbivore performance (survival,d l l i b d i ) h f di
MethodologyMethodology
developmental time, body mass increment, etc.) when feedingon different host plants (“no-choice” experiment),
3. Determination of morphological features (papillae, silicacrystals, etc.) and chemical compounds (C, N, sugar content,secondary metabolites, etc.).
Morphological Chemical
Co-promotor: Rein Brys ([email protected])Promotor: Hans Jacquemyn,
Recommended
