Laboratory of Applied Mycology and Phenomics

Cultivating science, nurturing growth: innovative biocontrol and automated phenomics for sustainable agriculture.

About us

LAMP Research Initiative

Developing healthy, resilient crops in the face of climate change. By integrating phytopathology, biocontrol, and advanced phenomics and spectral technologies, we translate scientific discoveries into practical solutions for society.

Lead
Prof. Kris Audenaert & team
Affiliation
Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University

Phenomics & Spectral Imaging

Multi- and hyperspectral precision agriculture: detecting plant stress and disease early through imaging technology.

Applied Mycology

Research into fungi and plant-pathogen interactions, focusing on pathogens such as Fusarium and Phytophthora in agricultural crops.

Biocontrol & Priming

Sustainable crop protection by activating the plant's own immune system ('priming') and deploying microbial antagonists — 'sweet immunity'.

Valorization & Services

Collaboration with industry through CropFit Services: bioassays and services that bring research into practice.

The Team

Principal Investigator

Kris Audenaert

Principal Investigator

  • Spectral imaging
  • Fluorescence imaging
  • Fungal plant pathogens
ORCID

Postdoctoral Researchers

Noémie De zutter

Post-doctoral researcher

  • Multispectral imaging
  • Biostimulant & biocontrol products
  • Microbial community structure
ORCID

Sabina Bajda-Wybouw

Post-doctoral researcher (CropFit Services)

  • Outreach to companies
  • Valorization
  • Biostimulants

Trang Minh Tran

FWO postdoctoral researcher

  • Microbe-plant interaction
  • Biostimulant - Biocontrol
  • Priming
ORCID

Technical & Operations

Boris Bekaert

Lab technician

Jarno van de Geuchte

Lab technician (2025–present)

PhD Students

Fien Drijvers

PhD researcher

Kenan Meert

PhD researcher (VLAIO Baekeland fellow)

ORCID

Louka Noyen

PhD researcher

Jing Liu

PhD researcher

Marie Blomme

PhD researcher

ORCID

Dylan Cool

PhD researcher

ORCID

Nerea Castineira Rial

PhD researcher

Simon Vermeulen

PhD researcher

Our Projects

PRIMO focuses on the biocontrol of potato (Solanum tuberosum) against the oomycete Phytophthora infestans using volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The green leaf volatile Z3-hexenyl acetate (Z3-HAC) was shown to be a potent priming agent against P. infestans in potato.

Development of a botanical biofiltration system for domestic environments, based on optimized malodorant-metabolizing rhizosphere and phyllosphere microbiomes. Also includes the identification of fungal volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and their role in plant growth promotion.

A European project on the cultivation of the red seaweed Furcellaria lumbricalis in the Baltic Sea, aiming to investigate its biostimulant potential through life-cycle control, sustainable aquaculture, population genomics, and multispectral imaging.

Application of AI and machine learning to multi- and hyperspectral imaging for the early detection of plant diseases. More project details to follow.

⚠ to be confirmed / completed

Project description not yet available — to be completed once details are known.

⚠ to be confirmed / completed

News & Publications

Latest news

Lies Van Vlierberghe presenting at Plant Pathology 2026

This week, our team member Lies is attending the Plant Pathology conference in England! She is presenting her poster, "Unlocking the diverse Sarocladium lifestyles through CRISPR-Cas9 and live imaging." Best of luck, Lies!

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Publications archive

2026

Belgian endive-derived biostimulant activity in Arabidopsis, lettuce, and sweet pepper at different developmental stages, environmental conditions, and application methods

FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE

DOI
2026

Bio-inspired designer cellulosomes show strongest synergy on industrial substrates under natural-like conditions

JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL MICROBIOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY

DOI
2026

Biological control of Botrytis cinerea in tomato and Fusarium graminearum in wheat using the novel species Burkholderia mycopellens and Burkholderia crassaminum

FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY

DOI
2026

CRISPR Cas9 editing and GFP labeling in Sarocladium for functional studies

77th International Symposium on Crop Protection, Abstracts

View
2026

Can we breed microbiomes to sustain plant productivity?

MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY

DOI
2026

Evaluation of the tolerance of duckweed (Lemnaceae) to abiotic stress factors associated with nutrient recycling systems via multispectral imaging

PLANT STRESS

DOI
2026

Integrated metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis to elucidate the antifungal and antimycotoxin mechanisms of natural stilbenoids against Fusarium graminearum

MICROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH

DOI

Showing 7 of 298 publications in the central LAMP list.

Contact & Location

Questions about collaborations, master's theses, or CropFit Services? Get in touch.

Faculty of Bioscience Engineering
Department of Plants and Crops — LAMP
Valentin Vaerwyckweg 1, Gebouw C
B-9000 Ghent, Belgium