Daniel Adan's Master Thesis will be centered on the characterization of the novel cable bacteria clades AR3 and AR4 which were previously reported in the Belgian North Sea. He will be trained in the realization of clonal incubations to reduce microbial diversity of sediments and increase the biomass of the target clades. Also, molecular techniques and bioinformatic tools will be applied to obtain the full 16S rRNA gene of AR3 and AR4 and compare them with published sequences, respectively. Daniel Adan is an Earth Scientist from Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and is currently part of the Master's Program in Marine Environment and Resources (MER+), a joint program between the Universities of Bordeaux (France), the Basque Country (Spain), and Liège (Belgium). 

We welcome a new Bachelor student Matteo Van Ostade in our group.

For his bachelor thesis on  cable bacteria, Matteo will be investigating different microscopy techniques for visualising and investigating these micro-organisms. Mass-spectrometry is frequently used for investigating unknown proteins or structures, however cable bacteria require very specific conditions to grow and are very hard to recover, which makes it difficult to obtain a large enough sample for mass-spectrometry. This is why his thesis will be centered on microscopy techniques that avoid these problems.  More informative and efficient techniques could help our understanding of structures and proteins that cable bacteria use.

Our four-day midweek in Oetingen was the perfect mix of focus and fun.

We kicked things off with inspiring presentations and great discussions that sparked new ideas and alignment. A highlight was our visit to Brouwerij Boon, where we discovered the craft behind traditional lambic beers — and enjoyed tasting them together.

The epic quiz night brought out everyone’s competitive side, while a refreshing hike gave us time to connect in a more relaxed way. 

Add to that plenty of good food and a fun surprise exercise from the professor that challenged our creativity, and you have four days that strengthened both our teamwork and our team spirit.