Wageningen University

The Netherlands

Wageningen University (www.wur.nl) is an internationally leading education and research organization with more than 5,000 employees; the largest organization focusing on life sciences in the Netherlands. WU has the mission to develop and apply top-level scientific expertise and technology to promote the production of healthy food, and sustain and improve the quality of the environment. Research is executed by several institutes and within the groups and departments of WU. The Laboratory of Microbiology (MIB) participates in this proposal through its Molecular Microbial Ecology Group headed by Prof dr. Hauke Smidt.

Competence and main role(s) in the project

MIB has been among the early pioneers in developing molecular, cultivation independent methods for the characterization of microbial ecosystems. MIB has ever since been at the frontline in the microbial ecology research of the gastrointestinal tract of humans and farm animals. MIB currently builds its new UNLOCK infrastructure for research on microbial communities. WU will mostly be involved in WP1, where we will contribute to the consolidation and expansion of metataxonomic and (meta)genomic databases of ruminant microbiomes. Furthermore, WU will generate novel data to link metataxonomic and genomic data based on individual cells and/or sorted fractions of specific populations of keystone species. Further information available here.

Project staff

Hauke Smidt

Prof Smidt is personal chair Complex Microbial Ecosystems at MIB. Hauke is coordinator of the UNLOCK infrastructure for research on microbial communities and has previously coordinated the EU-FP7 project INTERPLAY focusing on the interplay between intestinal microbiota and intestinal development and health in pigs. Hauke currently supervises 20 PhD students in national and EU projects, including 11 PhD students working on intestinal microbiota of humans and farm animals.

The HoloRuminant project has received funding from European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 101000213. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and not the European Commission (EC). The EC is not liable for any use that may be made of them information contained herein.