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This is a great recognition of research at UNamur: three Marie Skłodowska-Curie Doctoral Networks (DN) projects have just been awarded, with a key contribution from researchers in Namur! The first, in chemistry, involves Professor Stéphane Vincent; the second, focused on ecosystem resilience, involves Professor Frédérik de Laender; and the third, in the field of photonics, benefits from the expertise of FNRS-qualified researcher Michaël Lobet.

Do you know the rivulus? It is a small fish that lives in the Caribbean and has some amazing characteristics. It is indeed capable of self-fertilisation! But in this case, what happens to genetic diversity, which is essential for the evolution of a species? Welcome in the mangroves of Florida and Belize to find an answer.

An international team of researchers, including Prof Frederik De Laender, from the University of Namur, publish in Nature Communications. The editor highlights that the authors use theoretical models and field data to show how eco-evolutionary processes can force species to develop more similar characteristic traits in more species-rich communities to avoid competition. Which goes against what we intuitively perceive.

In a new publication, the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) announces the success of its pilot project. This pioneering initiative has brought together a vast collaborative network of researchers and institutions in 33 countries to produce high-quality reference genomes of 98 European species. This continental effort paves the way for a new, inclusive and equitable model of biodiversity genomics.

At a time when around a fifth of Europe's 200,000 species are threatened with extinction, researchers from the University of Namur are taking part in a pan-European consortium to act fast and together to generate high-quality genome resources on a large scale.

A team of American researchers, with the help of Frédérik De Laender, professor in the Department of Biology at UNamur, has just published in the prestigious journal Nature. Their study describes how changing stream temperatures and human introductions of fish can alter river biodiversity in the USA.

At the beginning of each academic year, the Board of Trustees grants Namur Research College (NARC) Fellowship status to researchers who demonstrate a high level of research achievement and who have recently received a prestigious award or funding. A look back at the fellowship of Professor Frederik De Laender.

In 2021, the European Union has embarked on a titanic project to safeguard the genomes of all eukaryotic species in Europe. In other words, all living organisms, with the exception of bacteria and archaea (micro-organisms). Called ERGA, for European Reference Genome Atlas, and in which UNamur is participating thanks to Professor Alice Dennis, this project hopes to help safeguard biodiversity, at a time when a fifth of European species are in danger of extinction..

The F.R.S.-FNRS has just published the results of its various 2024 calls. Equipment calls, research credits and projects, FRIA doctoral grants and Mandant d'Impulsion Scientifique (MIS), there are many instruments to support fundamental research. Find out more about UNamur's results.

Catherine Linard, a researcher in the Department of Geography at UNamur, was recognized for her work at the intersection of geography and epidemiology. This Francqui-Collen fellowship will allow her, starting in September and for the next three years, to be relieved of most of her teaching duties so she can devote more time to her research on the influence of environmental changes on the spread of infectious diseases. 

AbstractIn this work, I aimed to accurately simulate the Raman optical activity (ROA) signatures of flexible solute molecules in their environment. Indeed, these systems are quite challenging due to the potentially huge number of conformers—that is, local minima on the potential energy surface (PES). Furthermore, the environment can drastically alter the PES, as evidenced by experimental ROA spectra that vary significantly depending on the molecule’s conformation and its surroundings. To address this issue, we have developed a hierarchy of methodologies designated M1, M2, and M3. In M1 and M2, the so-called static approach is used: one or more conformers are identified, their geometries are reoptimized at the Density Functional Theory (DFT) level, and their vibrational signatures are simulated, typically using the harmonic approximation. The initial list of conformers was obtained using the CREST algorithm. In M1, the solvent is treated implicitly, whereas in M2, explicit solvent molecules are added around the solute molecule. In M3, we perform ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of the solute molecule surrounded by explicit solvent molecules. The spectrum is obtained by evaluating time-correlation functions along the trajectory. Our first systems of interest were cryptophane derivatives. These are flexible cage-like systems consisting of two hemispheres connected by three -O-(CH₂)n-O- (denoted Cr–nnn) linkers that exhibit chiroptical properties. For Cr–111, the smallest possible cryptophane, the M1 methodology showed good agreement with experimental data, especially in the fingerprint region. However, we demonstrated that the relative ratio between the different conformers was strongly influenced by the choice of the exchange-correlation (XC) functional in our DFT calculations, highlighting the sensitivity of the potential energy surface (PES) description. Cr–222 molecules have been shown to be more flexible, as evidenced by a greater number of significant conformers. The overall agreement with experimental data was also satisfactory. Finally, to test our different approaches (M1–M3), I performed new ROA measurements of amino acids in water at the University of Bordeaux in Dr. Daugey’s laboratory. When compared to our simulations, we clearly observed an improvement in the ROA signatures when explicit water molecules were added to our simulations (M2 vs. M1). Unfortunately, the M3 method did not perform as expected, and further investigation is needed. Overall, I have shown that the PES, as described by our various methodologies, is highly sensitive to various simulation parameters—such as the XC functional, the number and position of explicit solvent molecules, and so on—and that all of these factors strongly influence the simulated ROA signatures.JuryProf. Francesca CECCHET (UNamur), ChairProf. Vincent LIÉGEOIS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Benoît CHAMPAGNE (UNamur)Prof. Carine CLAVAGUÉRA (University of Paris-Saclay)Dr. Nicolas DAUGEY (University of Bordeaux)

AbstractEnvironmental change rarely occurs as a single, isolated event; organisms and communities typically experience one stressor against the backdrop of another that has already passed. Arunima Sikder’s doctoral thesis examines whether an organism’s past environment shapes its response to the environment that follows, and whether that influence propagates upward to affect the stability of the communities to which these organisms belong.The thesis addresses this question in Synechococcus sp., a globally significant marine primary producer, using thermal and chemical stressors as its two environmental drivers. Working across three levels of biological organization, the study examines how past environments shape responses to subsequent ones—whether they occur in sequence, fluctuate, or occur in combination—using functional traits as the common metric for measuring these responses.The results reveal three key findings. First, sensitivity to a stressor depends on the sequence of exposure, not on the stressor alone. Second, response diversity predicts community stability only when measured under the community’s actual acclimation history, rather than under sustained conditions as conventional wisdom assumes. Third, an apparent contradiction in biodiversity–ecosystem function theory—a negative relationship between functional diversity and performance.Together, these findings suggest that sensitivity, response diversity, and functional diversity should be treated as state-dependent quantities rather than fixed properties, with implications for how the performance of biological systems is measured and modeled under increasingly variable environmental conditions.JuryProf. Alice DENNIS (UNamur), ChairProf. Frederik DE LAENDER (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Maren STRIEBEL (Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg)Prof. Giulia GHEDINI (Monash University)Prof. Eli THORÉ (UNamur)