Marc Ongena is Research Director at the FRS-FNRS and associate Professor at University of Liè€ge. He is co-heading the MiPI lab (45 persons in total) and leading a research group of 15 persons (2 technicians, 2 MS thesis students, 9 PhD students, 1 Post-Docs). The research work in the group is dedicated to the study of soil dwelling bacteria that retain a strong potential to protect plants against diseases and therefore represent promising alternatives to chemical pesticides as plant-beneficial bacteria. Focusing on Bacillus and Pseudomonas as typical plant-associated species, we investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying such biocontrol activity. We are particularly interested in the chemistry and ecological functions of secondary metabolites involved in plant protection, which includes a range of non-ribosomally synthesized compounds including cyclic lipopeptides but also bacteriocins. As it is pivotal in microbial chemical ecology, we are devoting a large part our research in better understanding how and to what extent interkingdom and interspecies interactions may impact the expression of this arsenal of metabolites.
