Charisma K. Lepcha (PI, Sikkim University), Pradyut Guha (co-PI, Sikkim University), Rajib Sutradhar (co-PI, Christ University Bangalore) and Erik de Maaker (Leiden University) have been awarded a two-year grant of USD 18.000 to conduct research on the impact of ‘green farming’ on the sensitive mountain…

Microbes influence and respond to other organisms. This theme explores the dynamic relationships within plant and animal microbiomes, and the immune responses that govern host defense. Using model systems such as zebrafish, insects, and plants, we investigate fundamental processes and engineer microbes…

This report investigates the different approaches in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use in the European Union and the United States of America. Three main aspects are considered and analyzed as potential causes of differences in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use.…

How do plant defense genes get activated?

Increasing above- and belowground biodiversity in arable leek cultivation to stimulate pest control by natural enemies.

PhD defence

An environmental and palaeo-economic reconstruction.

This project explores the decline of shifting cultivation in Northeast India. What is the impact on society of people’s deepening engagement with markets and the state?

Living systems scale from unicellular microbes to complex multispecies communities that constantly change over time. Within the theme Development & Disease, we enhance our fundamental understanding of development and homeostasis of living cells and systems. We analyze the normal situation and how stresses…

The aim is to develop methods to assess environmental and occupational exposure to (individual) pesticides, to be applied in epidemiological studies investigating pesticide exposure and human health. Furthermore, we aim to investigate the potential association between exposure to pesticides and Parkinson’s…

The mission of the Plant Sciences cluster is to contribute to the sustainable production of high-quality crops, flowers and high-value bio-based products, and to contribute to the maintenance and restoration of biodiversity in natural ecosystems. This is realised by generating fundamental knowledge…

Taught from primary school to the university level – where new courses on the globalization of the Arabic writing system have cropped up (Abdallah 2014) – the Arabic script, with all its orthographic peculiarities and multiple facets, continues to shape languages other than Arabic, their communities…

TRANSAUTOPHAGY is a European COST action to promote multidisciplinary research on autophagy and translation of knowledge to applications.

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotores: P.B.F. Ouwerkerk, M. Wang

Microbial Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to investigate how beneficial or disease-causing microbes associate and interact with their host.

The book ‘Pesticides and the Environment’ gives a transparent overview of facts and figures concerning pesticide use in the Netherlands and the impact of pesticides on the environment.

Dr. at the Department of organic chemistry, Wageningen University - the Nederlands

Corrie Bakels & Hans Kamermans (eds) (2009)

Currently, the construction is underway for a large, covered bicycle parking facility with space for nearly 3000 bicycles. In the summer of 2024, the Gorlaeus bicycle parking will be ready for use.

Which plants in the Mediterranean garden were already known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and how were they utilized?

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotor: E.J. van der Zaal

This is a joint PhD of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences at Leiden University and the Evolutionary Ecology Group at Antwerp University.

Through our research, we aim to enhance both scholarly understanding and practical knowledge in sustainability governance, while making meaningful contributions to the public debates on these critical issues. To achieve this goal, we embrace diversity in our research topics, methodological approaches,…

The central aim of LIPQUORUM is to unravel the intricate interkingdom signaling mechanisms between the Bacillus subtilis species complex and the devastating fungal pathogen Sporisorium scitamineum.

In this article, published in Brill’s Encyclopedia of the Religions of the Indigenous People of South Asia Online, Erik de Maaker posed three questions. How can the persistence of the community religion, albeit marginalized, be explained? What role is left for the practices, objects, and beliefs associated…

Farming practices, food production, and the agricultural potential of the Late Bronze Age (1600-1200 BCE) Argive Plain, Greece

Various companies in the plant biotech industry will test a recent Leiden discovery in their crops. The ‘Pol Theta’ technology is developed in Leiden and makes it possible to reduce undesired side effects during genome engineering of plants.

PhD defence

Development of GHG calculator for bio-electricity and heat.

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

A neolithic settlement on the Dutch North Sea coast c. 3500 CAL BC.

Irna Hofman defended her thesis on 10 January 2019.

Why do plants produces always produced so many slightly differing metabolites within a particular chemical class?

Does a high quality prairie restoration in an urban/agricultural landscape provide invertebrates necessary for a sustainable ecosystem?

Promotores: Prof.dr. T.H.W. Bäck, Prof.dr. M. Bongards (Cologne University)

Plant-microbe interaction resulted in different physio/chemical responses by host plant and interacting rhizobacteria.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a major cereal crop that millions of subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on. However, the scourging impact of the root parasitic weed Striga (Striga hermonthica, a.k.a. “witch-weed”) has remained a major constraint hampering the productivity of sorghum in…

In the master’s specialisation Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology at Leiden University students are trained by experts in the areas of molecular biology, microbiology, plant genetics, cellular imaging, animal disease models, and various –omics technologies and the corresponding bioinformatics.

In Microbial Sciences, we perform multidisciplinary research to understand the structure and function of microbes at all levels of biological organization, from small molecules and cellular structures at atomic resolution to multicellular communities.

Microbiome composition of the spermosphere and the rhizosphere of wild and modern bean accessions grown in an agricultural and a native soil from Colombia was characterized by metagenomics and cultivation-dependent approaches.

Promotor: G.R. de Snoo, W. Kustiawan, Co-promotor: H.H. de Iongh

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo, Prof.dr. G.A. Persoon

Is it possible to synthesize industrially relevant compounds in a sustainable manner through the use of light-capturing cyanobacteria?

We depend on nature for so many things: from clean water, wood and food to carbon absorption, water purification and coastal protection, as well as for relaxation, inspiration and identity. Nevertheless, our modern world putting increasing pressure on these ecosystem services. Leiden researchers investigate…

In this project, we will study the genetic and environmental drivers of woodiness and stem lignification at the level of plant‐to‐gene‐to‐molecule.

For a first time the atlas maps the soil biodiversity of the entire planet, and provide s comprehensive analysis of human-induced threats to soil organisms and soil functioning, facilitating development of new policies to protect soil and soil organisms.

The SNP genotyping line offers flexible genotyping for small and large projects at affordable price and high quality. The use as SNPs as molecular markers is very versatile and can be used for a wide variety of scientific questions ranging from paternity analysis, conservatuion genetis towards QTL…

As a new vision on food production, the feasibility study on LED light to grow crops with the biological- and chemical evaluation of final products.