Modeling the dynamics of microbial communities

The composition of microbial communities is dynamic: The relative abundances of species within a community vary with time and change with environmental conditions. We are developing mathematical and computational models to study the response of such microbial communities to environmental perturbations or to explain the emergence of various community types.

 

People

Stefan Vet (PhD student ULB/VUB) – co-promotors: J. Danckaert / L. Gelens / D. Gonze
Rudy Pelicaen (PhD student ULB/VUB) – co-promotor: S. Weckx

 

Partners

KU Leuven (Karoline Faust)

 

Publications

D’hoe K, Vet S, Faust K, Moens F, Falony G, Gonze D, Lloréns-Rico V, Gelens L, Danckaert J, De Vuyst L, Raes J (2018) Integrated culturing, modeling and transcriptomics uncovers complex interactions and emergent behavior in a three-species synthetic gut community, eLife, in press.

Faust K, Bauchinger F, Laroche B, de Buyl S, Lahti L, Washburne A, Gonze D, Widder S (2018) Signatures of ecological processes in microbial community time series, Microbiome, 28:120.

Vet S, de Buyl S, Faust K, Danckaert J, Gonze D, Gelens L (2018) Bistability in a system of two species interacting through mutualism as well as competition: chemostat vs. Lotka-Volterra equations, PLoS One, 13:e0197462.

 

Extra info

Lab website: http://www.ulb.ac.be/sciences/utc/