The laboratory of mycology, including the mycothèque (BCCM/MUCL), is conducting basic and applied research in the domain of mycology. Interdisciplinarity is cultivated through numerous international collaborations.
Research thematics
Agro-food mycology
- Analysis of the role of fungi in food manufacturing processes (brewery, dairy, bakery) and in alteration of food products (fungal contamination in the production chains).
Agro-environmental mycology
- Taxonomy, phylogeny and ecology of fungi from natural or anthropized environment (fungal diversity in litter and canopy of tropical forests, in agricultural crops, in insect gut)
- Study of trophic chain and host/symbiont or host/pathogen interaction
- Diversity of wood-decaying fungi
- Role of fungi in
- Bio-stimulation of plant growth ( potato, maize, banana)
- Bio-protection of plants against biotic (ex. Phytophthora infestans, Rhizoctonia solani, Mycosphaerella fijiensis) and abiotic (salinity, drought) stresses
- bio-remédiation of polluted sites (ex. hydrocarbons, heavy metals).
- Purification and production of fungal bio-effectors
Current projects
-EU
- SOLACE - Solutions for improving Agroecosystem and Crop Efficiency for water and nutrient use - H2020-SFS-01-2016 (2017-2022)
- MICROMETABOLITES - Research Training Network on the Microbial Enhancement of Bioactive Secondary Metabolite Production in PlantS - UE MSCA - INT (2017-2021)
- SYMBIO-INC - Mechanisms of symbiotic incompatibility in the arbuscular mycorrhizal association - UE Marie Curie (2020-2022)
- MixForChange : Mixed Forest plantations for climate Change mitigation and adaptation - H2020 BIODIVERSA (2021-2023)
- ARISTO - The European Industry - Academia Network for Revising and Advancing the Assessment of the Soil Microbial TOxicity of Pesticides - H2020 UE MSCA - INT - EID (2020-2024)
- MyUpscaling : Upscaling in vitro arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculum production via combinatorial lipid metabolic engineering of host plants - UE Marie Curie (2021-2024)
- MIRRI21 : Implementation and sustainability of microbial resource research infrastructure for 21th century - H2020 INFRADEV (2020-2023)
- AGROSERV - Integrated SERVices supporting a sustainable AGROecological transition – Horizon-INFRA-2021 (2022-2026)
- Walloon Region
- MICROSOILSYSTEM - Reduction of chemical inputs by application of microbial consortia with bio-stimulant and bio-control effects adapted to soil functioning in conventional and conservation agriculture - Operational Directorate for Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environment (DGO3) (2018-2024)
- BIOFUNGI - Bio-contrôle des ravageurs phytopathogènes par des souches et/ou biomolécules fongiques à propriétés entomopathogènes encapsulées dans des micro/nanobilles - SPW-DGO6 (2019-2022)
- ATTRACT AND KILL - Alternative à l'enrobage de semences : Développement d'une stratégie attract-and-kill pour le contrôle des insectes nuisibles en culture de betteraves - SPW - DGO3 (2021-2024)
- Brussels Region
- CIDESOL : Citoyens pour la Dépollution des sols (2020-2023)
- Fonds de la Recherche Fondamentale Collective
- Réseau de communication entre plantes mycorhizées lors de l'infection virale - FRNS PDR (2020-2022)
- The mycorhizobiome : a market place for signals and nutrients exchanges between bacteria, mycorrhizal fungi and their associated plants - FNRS-PDR (2021-2023)
- Institutional sources
-
DIVERCE - Does intraspecific variability modulate the impact of environmental change on biodiversity and ecosystem function? – Projet ARC (2018-2023)
- Other sources
- Mycologie et développement dans la région des Grands lacs: approche raisonnée et filières de production ex-situ de champignons comestibles, une alternative économique additionnelle à l’exploitation d’aires protégées – Projet de recherche pour le développement (PRD) (2018-2023)
- Paving the way towards biotechnology and Bioeconomy in Ecuador: Oil polluted ecosystems as a model of microbial diversity and reservoir for bioremediation processes and bioeconomy – Projet de recherche pour le développement (PRD) (2019-2024)
- Vers une agriculture plus performante et durable au Burundi : application de microorganismes pour améliorer la santé et la croissance des plantes – Projet de recherche pour le développement (PRD) (2019-2024)