Department of Microbial Ecology

Micro-organisms form a huge, largely undiscovered potential. A treasure-trove for researchers from the department of Microbial Ecology.

Screening the effect of beneficial microbes against soil-borne pathogens	The root microbiome comprises a vast number of microorganisms colonising the host plant belowground. These microbes can have different effects on plant growth and health, mediating nutrients acquisition, influencing plant biochemical pathways, inhibiting soil-borne pathogens. In this project, we...Read more
Breeding soil microbiome to promote plant growth	To increase the sustainability of agriculture, we need the help of soil microbiota, especially the microbes that promote the plant growth. Current techniques for detection of growth promotion microbes focused mainly on unique, isolated microbes. This approach is not only laborious but very limited...Read more
MSc project: Reproductive microbiome of house sparrows	Suitable for MSc thesis, at least six months. General background Animals live and evolve in a microbial world. Thus, it is hardly surprising that every animal hosts a diversity of microbial communities (i.e. microbiomes) in and on their bodies. Importantly, microbiomes are emerging as fundamental...Read more
Emerging trends in Ecological Meta-analysis with the increased availability of datasets	NIOO is one of the largest institutes within the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). With four departments – Animal, Aquatic, Microbial, and Terrestrial Ecology – NIOO leads top-quality interdisciplinary research. NIOO is situated opposite the Wageningen UR campus. See more at...Read more
Internships at the department of Microbial Ecology	General guidelines are given here that will help you to find an interesting research topic for an internship at the department of Microbial Ecology. Overview of research lines: Microbial diversity (Why is the microbial diversity in soils so incredibly high? Is high microbial diversity important for...Read more