The TPCP programme begun based on a very small team of researchers at the University of the Free State and focused on a single threatening Eucalyptus disease problem. The programme has since grown to become highly recognised internationally as the single strongest programme dealing with pest and pathogen problems in plantation forestry in the world. The TPCP has also brought huge energy to agricultural research and education in the biological sciences in South Africa. For example, it formed the foundation for the establishment of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) at the University of Pretoria, which in just 13 years has become a flagship research centre promoting many aspects of plant improvement in South Africa.
Tree Protection Co-operative Programme
New Publications
Chepsergon J, Moleleki LN. (2023) “Order from disordered”: Potential role of intrinsically disordered regions in phytopathogenic oomycete intracellular effector proteins. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 75:102402.
10.1016/j.pbi.2023.102402
Macharia TN, Duong TA, Moleleki LN. (2023) n silico secretome analyses of the polyphagous root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica: a resource for studying M. javanica secreted proteins. BMC Genomics 24:296.
10.1186/s12864-023-09366-6
Chepsergon J, Lucy N Moleleki. (2023) Rhizosphere bacterial interactions and impact on plant health. Current Opinion in Microbiology 73:102297.
10.1016/j.mib.2023.102297
Jane Chepsergon, Celiwe Nxumalo, Brenda Salasini, Aquillah Kanzi, Lucy Moleleki. (2022) Short Linear Motifs (SLiMs) in “Core” RxLR effectors of Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae: A case of PpRxLR1 effector. Microbiology Spectrum 10(2)
10.1128/spectrum.01774-21
Maphosa S and Moleleki LN. (2021) Isolation and Characterization of Outer Membrane Vesicles of Pectobacterium brasiliense 1692. Microorganisms 9:1-20.
10.3390/ microorganisms9091918
Jane Chepsergon, Thabiso E. Motaung, Lucy Novungayo Moleleki. (2021) “Core” RxLR effectors in phytopathogenic oomycetes: A promising way to breeding for durable resistance in plants?. Virulence 12(1):1921-1935.
10.1080/21505594.2021.1948277
Collins Kipngetich Tanui, Divine Yutefar Shyntum, Precious K. Sedibane, Daniel Bellieny-Rabelo, Lucy N. Moleleki. (2021) Pectobacterium brasiliense 1692 chemotactic responses and the role of methyl-accepting chemotactic proteins in ecological fitness. 12
10.3389/fpls.2021.650894 
Teresia N. Macharia, Daniel Bellieny-Rabelo, Lucy N. Moleleki. (2020) Transcriptome Profiling of Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) Responses to Root-Knot Nematode (Meloidogyne javanica) Infestation during A Compatible Interaction.
10.3390/microorganisms8091443
Chepsergon J, Motaung TE, Bellieny-Rabelo D, Moleleki LN. (2020) Organize, Don’t Agonize: Strategic Success of Phytophthora Species. Microorganisms 8(6):917.
10.3390/microorganisms8060917
Shin G, Schacterle JK, Shyntum DY, Moleleki LN, Coutinho T, Sundin GW. (2019) Functional characterization of a global virulence regulator Hfq and identification of Hfq-dependent sRNAs in the plant pathogen Pantoea ananatis. Frontiers in Microbiology 10:1-19.
10.3389/fmicb.2019.02075