FABI News
28 May 2026
FABI mycologist lands major Oppenheimer Memorial Trust award to unlock South Africa's fungal secrets
Professor. Cobus Visagie has received one of South Africa's most prestigious research grants
27 May 2026
FABI researchers participate in the IUFRO Tree Wilt Disease Congress in Athens
A group of FABI researchers met in Athens to attend and participate in a joint meeting of two IUFRO Division 7 Working Parties
26 May 2026
FABI researchers study and compare Croatian and South African bark beetle fungi
Prof. Mike Wingfield recently visited Croatia to inspect various field sites and to plan further details of a research project
25 May 2026
TPCP field extension and diagnostic clinic trip visits the Eastern Cape
Teams from the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) field extension and diagnostic clinic embark on a joint field trip to the Eastern Cape.
20 May 2026
CPHB-FABI interns at Nampo Harvest Day 2026
On 12 May, interns in the Phytosanitation and Biosecurity Internship Program at FABI had the exciting opportunity to attend NAMPO Harvest Day 2026
FABI in a nutshell
Research Features
Tracing the past, building the future: FABI research unlocks the genetics and genomics of the Sirex woodwasp complex
FABI researcher co-authors global perspective on mycotoxins and food safety.
FABI researchers Prof. Cobus Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz, and Nicole van Vuuren, together with international collaborators, have published a comprehensive taxonomic revision of the fungal order Eurotiales, which includes the economically important genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Talaromyces.
New publication explores the chemodiversity of Penicillium isolated from alpine and arctic environments, including ten new species.
Review emphasizes the importance of understanding the genetics of sex determination for effective genetic pest management in insects.
Eleven new Penicillium and Talaromyces species discovered in South African culture collections.
A new study reveals the presence of Mycotoxins in Eastern Cape maize in South Africa.
Eurotiales update: FABIans Prof. Cobus Visagie and Dr Neriman Yilmaz and their collaborators have published a review of recently described Eurotiales species, including the economically important Aspergillus, Penicillium, Paecilomyces and Talaromyces.
Da Vinci's Yeast: FABIans Prof. Cobus Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz, and their collaborators have recently described and named a newly discovered yeast species of the famous Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect Leonardo da Vinci.
The potential economic impact of the PSHB invasion in South Africa has been calculated to be a massive R275 billion over the next ten years, if nothing is done to stop the spread of this invasive beetle. Researchers from FABI collaborated with Stellenbosch University ecologists and economists to model the unmitigated economic impact of this invasion.
A recently published paper in the journal Current Forestry Reports documents a collaboration between an international team of forest pathologists and invasion scientists. Led by Dr Trudy Paap, the authors present a framework for conceptualizing and managing invasive forest pathogens.
A recently published review article by Dr Andi Wilson in a special issue of the journal 'Microbiology & Molecular Biology Reviews' provides details of the genes that are essential to the sexual cycle in filamentous Ascomycete fungi and further describes their functions in a variety of model and non-model species.
Penicillium section Canescentia re-evaluated and five new species described from the fynbos biome in South Africa.
In November 2019, the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology hosted a workshop on ‘Frameworks used in Invasion Science’. The workshop led to a NeoBiota special issue on this theme, and includes a review by FABI researchers and international colleagues, exploring frameworks in the context of forest pathology.
A doctoral study in FABI confirms for the first time the presence of Xylosandrus crassiusculus, a polyphagous ambrosia beetle and its fungal symbiont, Ambroseilla roeperi, in three provinces in South Africa. The authors warn that this beetle species could be a threat to native and plantation trees.
A review on invasive gall-forming wasps that threaten non-native Eucalyptus plantations by researchers in the TPCP appears in Agricultural and Forest Entomology. They profile several species of likely Australian origin that have established on non-native Eucalyptus plantations globally and discuss various challenges to their management.
A study in the TPCP confirms the identity of seven novel fungal species associated with Dendroctonus valens, the red turpentine beetle. The study follows on surveys on the fungal associates of the beetle in China and North America. Results from this work appear in Persoonia.
A postdoctoral study in the TPCP describes two novel Huntiella species in the African clade, bringing the number of known species in the genus to 31. Though closely related, the two species display different mating systems. Outcomes from this study appear in the journal MycoKeys.
A review of the invasion history and global management strategies of Eucalyptus snout beetles in the Gonipterus scutellatus species complex by researchers in the TPCP appears in the Journal of Pest Science.
In a collaborative venture with Dr Jos Houbraken (Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands), Prof. Cobus M Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz (both from FABI) and others have recently completed and published a major study updating the taxonomy of the Eurotiales.
A study in the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme at FABI interrogates the benefits of implementing genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in an established Eucalyptus grandis breeding programme in South Africa. Outcomes from this study appear in an article.
The first study on alternative weed and cultivated hosts of Spongospora subterraneaf. sp. subterranea (Sss), in southern Africa identifies two species as ideal trap crops for rotation with potatoes. The study also introduces three new families to the known hosts of Sss in the region.
A consortium of microbiologists from around the globe, FABI included, is pushing for an overhaul in how scientific names are assigned to uncultivated bacteria and archaea. Despite their ecological, agricultural and medical importance, these organisms traditionally have not been recognized by the international body governing the nomenclature of prokaryotes.
Professor Cobus Visagie is a researcher in the Applied Mycology group at FABI. One of the group’s research goals is to discover fungal diversity in South Africa, and Cobus’ research is strongly focussed on the economically important genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces.
Postdoctoral research by Dr Norman Muzhinji in the Potato Pathology Programme at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) sheds light on the genetic structure and diversity of Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea in four potato-growing regions in South Africa, providing valuable insights on its management.
An MSc study by Kira Lynn in the RGE-FABI Tree Health Programme at the University of Pretoria has described a new Fusarium species, Fusarium rekanum sp. nov., associated with Euwallacea perbrevis, an ambrosia beetle species infesting Acacia crassicarpa plantations in Riau, Indonesia.
FABI postdoctoral Fellow Dr Andi Wilson has established a CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing protocol for use in Huntiella omanensis, a tree-inhabiting fungus belonging to the Ceratocystidaceae family.
Research undertaken as part of a PhD study by Molly Malefo at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute sheds more light on the role of protease inhibitors in plants under drought stress.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has funded a postdoctoral research project dedicated to monitoring plant health in botanical gardens and arboreta across South Africa. Two postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Pretoria’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute have held these fellowships.
The first comprehensive study mapping the distribution and genetic diversity of invasive Eucalyptus insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa confirms the presence of five major foliage-feeding species in 14 countries. The results of this study have implications on the quarantine, future research and management of these pests on the continent and beyond.
Dr Joey Hulbert broke new ground when he became the first candidate at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute to complete a PhD study incorporating citizen science. Citizen science is an approach that involves members of the public as active participants in scientific research.
FABI technology unravels the genetics behind fungal genome evolution The RIPper is a bioinformatics tool for the for quantifying genome-wide RIP mutations in fungal genomes. The strength of this software lies in the automation of laborious techniques to study the mutation process called Repeat-Induced Point mutations (RIP). The RIPper applies these technique
With the increased availability in genome data, inferences regarding evolutionary relationships among taxa can now be performed on a genome-wide scale. But it is widely accepted that not all parts of such massive datasets support the same evolutionary hypothesis. Because of this, a group of researchers at FABI recently investigated the effect of this.
The use of genome data to characterize species and elucidate relationships, particularly between problematic taxa, has become routine practice in bacteria. Recently, researchers from FABI joined in an international effort to describe two novel genera and characterize these within the larger context of the important bacterial group Burkholderia.
A PhD student in FABI, Runlei Chang, has discovered and described 19 new fungal species from China as part of the research for his thesis. These fungi are all associated with conifer-infesting bark beetles and their mites and belong to well-known genera such as Ophiostoma and Leptographium.
Two research papers from FABI were selected as cover stories in two consecutive issues of the international journal, Plant Pathology. The journal is published by Wiley for the British Society of Plant Pathology.
Plastids play an integral role in wood formation, and yet they are routinely ignored in the study of xylogenesis in forest trees. Desre Pinard and Dr Eshchar Mizrachi have published a review highlighting the unique biology of plastids in wood, suggesting that a new type of plastid, the xylopast, exists.
Approaches for characterizing metabolic potential from genomic sequences have previously been predicted to be useful in the description of bacterial taxa. Dr Marike Palmer, has recently employed these approaches for identifying biological processes contributing to the divergence of bacteria with a variety of lifestyles.
Comparative genomics is shaping our notion of what fungal species are. Based on current data, these unique evolutionary units are separated from one another by boundaries that are porous under certain conditions. This affects our expectations regarding their population biology and evolution, and our strategies for recognizing and controlling them.
The Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer is an ambrosia beetle native to Southeast Asia. In 2017 this pest was detected in South Africa. Its presence has since been confirmed in all provinces except Limpopo. The beetle has a symbiotic relationship with the fungus Fusarium euwallaceae, which causes branch die-back and death of susceptible trees.
Paap T. Report on the health problem of Erica mammosa plants in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. December 2020.
Gossa MW. Report on Plant Health at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. April 2020.
Paap T. Phytophthora in Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. February 2020.
Gossa MW. Risk analysis report for Cypress aphid, Cinara cupressi in South Africa. September 2019.
Paap T. Risk analysis report for Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB), Euwallacea fornicatus in South Africa.
Malumphy C, Paap T. COST Action FP1401-Developing a global network to act as an early warning system against alien tree pests. Global patterns in pests on selected tree genera – South Africa, 12-24 June 2018, Final report.
Paap T. Report on tree health at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden. April 2018.
Assessment of plant health in the Cape botanical gardens. News Item. 23 November 2021.
FABI participates in the first annual meeting of the HOMED project. News item. 06 December 2019.
FABI contributes to CIB Workshop. News item. 22 November 2019.
Italian Forest pathologist visits FABI. News item. 18 November 2017.
Publications from the Sentinel Plant Project
Book chapters
Journal articles
Views articles
Podcast
Botanical gardens: why we need them and how they can also pose a risk.
Information Sheet
Publication from other research in the gardens
Crous PW, Verkley GJM, Groenewald JZ, Samson RA (eds). 2009. Fungal Biodiversity. CBS Laboratory Manual Series 1. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Utrecht, Netherlands.
The SANBI-funded Sentinel Plant Project is undertaking various supports in building plant health capacity in South African botanical gardens. The capacity building activities include workshops, seminars, presentations, and practical demonstrations on a range of plant health topics. More than 350 people including curators, estate managers, garden and city park staff, horticultural students, interns, delegates from various nurseries and Department of Environmental Affairs have attended the capacity building activities.
Details of these activities can be viewed by clicking here.
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New Publications
Townsend G, Hill M, Hurley BP, Roets F. (2026) Native Scolytinae and Platypodinae beetle assemblages in indigenous South African forests and their co-occurrence with the invasive PSHB beetle. Journal of Insect Conservation 30
10.1007/s10841-026-00779-8
Botha I, Maduna SN, Hagen SB, Lall N, Berger DK. (2026) 3RAD-guided SNP discovery for species identification and conservation of the medicinal southern African tree Genus Greyia Hook. & Harv.. Ecology and Evolution 16(5):e73412, 1-29.
10.1002/ece3.73412
Balocchi F, Duncan G, Yilmaz N, Wingfield MJ, Paap T. (2026) The critically endangered geophyte Gladiolus aureus threatened by a wilt disease associated with Fusarium libertatis. Journal of Plant Pathology
10.1007/s42161-026-02227-7 
Bose T, Wingfield MJ. (2026) Plantations are invasive pathogen bridgeheads—response to Li et al.. Trends in Ecology & Evolution
10.1016/j.tree.2026.05.006
Jamieson B-A, Paap T, Pegg GS, Carnegie AJ, Wingfield MJ, Roux J, Hardy GEStJ, Drenth A, Hammerbacher A, Bose T. (2026) Quambalaria spp.: Emerging Tree Pathogens of Concern. Current Forestry Reports 12:13.
10.1007/s40725-026-00274-y
Masuku SK, De Vos L, Thabiso TE, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD. (2026) Baseline sensitivity of South African Fusarium circinatum to tebuconazole. Journal of Plant Pathology
10.1007/s42161-026-02197-w
Fitawek W, Anjulo A, Healey M, Lawson SA, Hurley BP. (2026) The Moringa value chain in Ethiopia and the socio-economic impact of pests and diseases. CABI Agriculture and Bioscience
10.1079/ab.2026.00041
Lynn KMT, Wingfield MJ, Oliveira LSS, Alfenas AC, Ferreira Alfenas RF, Marincowitz S, Barnes I. (2026) Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses reveal patterns of divergence amongst isolates of Ceratocystis manginecans. Ecology and Evolution 16
10.1002/ece3.73652
Dlamini CM, Matongera TN, Lawson SA, Healey M, Tanga A, Regasa K, Kassie W, Hurley BP, Germishuizen I. (2026) Modelling spatiotemporal dynamics of wattle plantations in northwestern Ethiopia using harmonised PlanetScope and RapidEye imagery. Trees, Forests and People 25:101293.
10.1016/j.tfp.2026.101293
Ndou M, Potts WM, Duong TA, Teske PR, Childs AR, Henriques R. (2026) Conspecific scaffold-level genome assembly outperforms heterospecific chromosome-level assemblies for assessing genetic indicators in a threatened marine fish. Evolutionary Applications 19:e70247.
10.1111/eva.70247
Marx B, van Dijk A, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2026) Breaking the mould: Cellulose in the cell walls of the Ophiostomatales. Fungal Biology Reviews 57
10.1016/j.fbr.2026.100489
Wingfield BD, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield BJ, Groenewald M, Pohl C, Wingfield MJ. (2026) The genetic blueprint of Cyclohexamide resistance: Analysis of 816 yeast species. Research Square
10.21203/rs.3.rs-9313202/v1
Paap T, White D, Bose T, Burgess TI. (2026) Diversity and phylogeny of Phytophthora Clade 9, including descriptions of three novel species. Mycological Progress 25:29.
10.1007/s11557-026-02140-4
Kgatla MM, Barker C, Baxter JR, Bester-van der Merwe AE, Chaisi M, Chakona A, Cherry MI, Daniels SR, Du Preez LH, Haddad CR, Hawkes PG, Ho C, Hoareau TB, Jacobs A, Jacobs K, Janion-Scheepers C, Jansen van Vuuren B, Kabongo RM, Khoza TT, Khumalo NL, Mahlanza T, Makapela L, Makhubo BG, Maneveldt GW, Mashego K, Matcher G, Matthee CA, Mavhunga M, Midgley JM, Mlambo M, Monsanto DM, Mthombeni R, Murray SL, Mynhardt S, Nang-Mba B, Ndlovu M, Parbhu SP, Phetla V, Phukuntsi M, Pitcher TR, Samaai T, Sethusa MT, Simon CA, Sink K, Sole CL, Theron GL, van Asch B, van der Bank M, van Steenderen CJM, Villet MH, Visagie CM, Williams KA, Willows-Munro S, Da Silva JM, Mwale M. (2026) An overview of DNA barcoding of biodiversity in South Africa. PLOS ONE 21(4):e0345173.
10.1371/journal.pone.0345173
Li GQ, Slippers B, Wingfield MJ, Chen SF. (2026) Diversity, distribution and host range of Botryosphaeriaceae in China. Forest Pathology
10.1111/efp.70077
Joubert M, van den Berg N, Theron J, Swart V. (2026) Leaf bleaching is associated with extensive transcriptional reprogramming in avocado trees with sunblotch disease. Virology 620:110903.
10.1016/j.virol.2026.110903
Nzuza P, Schroder ML, Slippers B, Maes WH. (2026) Spectral responses to larval and artificial defoliation in Eucalyptus dunnii: Implications for UAV-based detection of Gonipterus damage. Drones 10(4)
10.3390/drones10040250
Six DL, Marincowitz S, Duong TA. (2026) Ophiostoma ipsi-confusi sp. nov. Six, Marinc. & Duong, a consistent symbiotic fungus of the pinyon ips bark beetle, Ips confusus LeConte. Symbiosis
10.1007/s13199-026-01135-9
Yan Z, Zhao Y, Meng X, Gao M, Si H, Zhao G, Bose T, Chang R. (2026) New manganese-oxidizing Acremonium-like fungi from halophytic rhizospheres in the Yellow River Delta, China. Mycologia :1-13.
10.1080/00275514.2026.2627133
Eshetu FB, Barnes I, Nahrung HF, Fitza KNE, Slippers B. (2026) A Century of invasion: How biosecurity influenced populations of Sirex noctilio and Its fungal symbiont in Australasia. Molecular Ecology 35(6):0962 - 1083.
10.1111/mec.70311
Viljoen A, Duong TA, Kanzi AM, Wingfield BD. (2026) Comparative analysis of mitochondrial genomes in the Ceratocystidaceae reveals highly conserved gene organization despite substantial genome size variation. BMC Genomics
10.1186/s12864-026-12755-2
Ribeiro MF, Cavallini G, Solce GN, Favoreto AL, De Souza Passos J-R, Barbosa LR, Hurley BP, Wilcken CF. (2026) Cold storage of Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) eggs for Anaphes nitens (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) rearing. PeerJ :1-14.
10.7717/peerj.20903
Pham NQ, Marincowitz S, Marpaung YMAN, Tarigan M, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2026) Two Cryphonectriaceae species from Eucalyptus leaves in North Sumatra and their stem inoculation outcomes. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 17:69–79.
10.15761/fuse.2026.17.05
Nickles GR, Stokes CK, Narh DL, Lynn KMT, Fuqua SR, Bryan C, Allen BM, Bivins CP, Bok JW, Brewer JS, Buthelezi ST, Clark JPRM, Coon KL, Corby LR, Coetzee MPA, Dewing C, Duong TA, Harris MA, Keller NP, Kopotsa K, Lane FA, Nichols HL, Nieuwoudt A, Nuñez MA, Medina Munoz ME, Park SC, Pham NQ, Ryan KT, Solís M, Vilgalys R, Wallace JM, Wang YW, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Worley TK, Zallek TA, Zamanian M, Hoeksma JD, Drott M, Pringle A. (2026) Equipped for success: Genomes and metabolites of the European Amanita muscaria are conserved in its novel South African range. New Phytologist
10.1111/nph.71064
Pham NQ, Wingfield MJ, Duong TA, Wingfield BD. (2026) Draft genome sequence of Elsinoe masingae: the causal agent of Eucalyptus scab in South Africa. Australasian Plant Pathology 55:37.
10.1007/s13313-026-01082-5
Pham NQ, Marincowitz S, Wingfield BD, Crous PW, Santos SA, Durán A, Tarigan M, Wingfield MJ . (2026) Pseudoteratosphaeria supramediana sp. nov. (Teratosphaeriaceae, Mycosphaerellales), a new foliar pathogen on Eucalyptus in Indonesia. Australasian Plant Pathology 55:28.
10.1007/s13313-026-01092-3
Nel WJ, Jali S, Barnes I, Wondafrash M, Hurley BP. (2026) Outbreaks of a native jewel beetle, Agrilus grandis (Coleoptera: Buprestidae), on commercial black wattle, Acacia mearnsii, plantations in South Africa. African Entomology 34(1):1-5.
10.17159/2254-8854/2026/a24625
Postma A, Klynsmith L, Duong TA, Allison JD, Smidt W, Waterhouse RM, Lesny P, Oeyen JP, Petersen M, Martin S, Liu S, Zhou X, Ziesmann T, Donath A, Mayer C, Misof B, Niehuis O, Peters RS, Podsiadlowski L, Coetzee MPA, Joubert F, Slippers B. (2026) Genome and transcriptome-based identification and expression profiling of chemosensory gene families across developmental stages and tissues in Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). Insect Molecular Biology :1-14.
10.1111/imb.70029
Aylward J, Visagie CM, Roets F, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2026) Genome analyses reveal two novel species of Seiridium from Acacia mearnsii. Mycological Progress 25:8.
10.1007/s11557-026-02121-7
Liu QL, Wingfield MJ, Duong TA, Wingfield BD, Crous PW. (2026) Taxonomy, distribution and dispersal of Calonectria species: Important pathogens of forestry, agricultural and horticultural crops. Current Forestry Reports 12(4)
10.1007/s40725-025-00262-8