Fungi play important roles in many aspects of human life, such as acting as decomposers in the carbon cycle, used to produce food and beverages, while many species produce useful pharmaceuticals or enzymes. For all of these benefits, fungi can cause serious problems for humans, animals and plants. One of the most important of these is the production of various mycotoxins in food and feed commodities that when consumed above threshold levels cause serious health problems in both humans and animals. Mycotoxins affect producers, suppliers, retailers and consumers, and places food security and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG2) of no hunger by 2030 at great risk. Our research is focused to better understand the fungal communities that produce mycotoxins in agricultural crops, food and animal feed. Emphasis is placed on the diversity and taxonomy of genera such as Alternaria, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium and Talaromyces, but many others are also studied. During this process we isolate and identify fungi using modern taxonomic approaches, publish and release newly generated DNA reference sequences, while building national biodiversity resources by depositing species to national and international fungal culture collections. Our group also aim to develop unified rapid monitoring methods to identify important mycotoxigenic species along the value chain. Ultimately, our goal is to secure food and feed from farm to fork for future generations.

Contact us

Contact Prof. Cobus Visagie
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Contact Dr. Neriman Yilmaz Visagie
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Telephone +27 12 420 5036

 

 

 

New Publications

Hiroyuki S, Marincowitz S, Roux J, Paap T, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2024) A new genus and species of Cryphonectriaceae causing stem cankers on plantation eucalypts in South Africa. Plant Pathology :1-14. 10.1111/ppa.13883 PDF
Price J-L, Visagie CM, Meyer H, Yilmaz N. (2024) Fungal species and mycotoxins Associated with Maize ear rots collected from the Eastern Cape in South Africa. Toxins 16:95. 10.3390/toxins16020095
Francinah M. Ratsoma, Nthabiseng Z. Mokoena, Quentin C. Santana, Brenda D. Wingfield, Emma T. Steenkamp, Thabiso E. Motaung. (2024) Characterization of the Fusarium circinatum biofilm environmental response role. Journal of Basic Microbiology 00(00):1-16. 10.1002/jobm.202300536
Visagie CM, Meijer M, Kraak B, Groenewald M, Houbraken J, Theelen B, Vorst Y, Boekhout T. (2024) Blastobotrys nigripullensis, a new yeast species isolated from a fungal outbreak on an ancient Roman shipwreck in the Netherlands. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 117:22. 10.1007/s10482-023-01898-x
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Kocsubé S, Frisvad JC, Hubka V, Samson RA, Houbraken J. (2024) A review of recently introduced Aspergillus, Penicillium, Talaromyces and other Eurotiales species. Studies in Mycology 107:1–66. 10.3114/sim.2024.107.01
Granados GM, Rodas CA, Vivas M, Wingfield MJ, Barnes I. (2023) Patterns of Dothistroma septosporum conidial dispersal in Colombian Pinus tecunumanii plantations. Forest Pathology (00):e12834. 10.1111/efp.12834
Visagie CM, Magistà D, Ferrara M, Balocchi F, Duong TA, Eichmeier A, Gramaje D, Aylward J, Baker SE, Barnes I, Calhoun S, De Angelis M, Frisvad JC, Hakalova E, Hayes RD, Houbraken J, Grigoriev IV, LaButti K, Leal C, Lipzen C, Ng V, Pangilinan J, Pecenka J, Perrone G, Piso A, Savage E, Spetik E, Wingfield MJ, Zhang Y, Wingfield BD. (2023) IMA genome-F18 - The reidentification of Penicillium genomes available in the NCBI and draft genomes for Penicillium species from dry cured meat, Penicillium biforme, P. brevicompactum, P. solitum, and P. cvjetkovicii, Pewenomyces kutranfy, Pew. tapulicola, Pew. kalosus, Teratosphaeria carnegiei, and Trichoderma atroviridae SC1. IMA Fungus 14(21) 10.1186/s43008-023-00121-w
Pham NQ, Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Tanga AA, Tiki KR, Kassie WB, Hurley BP, Germishuizen I, Lawson SA, Healey MA, Wondafrash M. (2023) First report of the wattle rust pathogen, Uromycladium acaciae (Raveneliaceae, Pucciniales) in Ethiopia. Forestry: An International Journal of Forest Research :1–8. 10.1093/forestry/cpad040
Marincowitz S, Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Roets F, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Microfungi associated with dying Euphorbia mauritanica in South Africa and their relative pathogenicity. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 12:59-71. 10.3114/fuse.2023.12.04 PDF
Crous P, Pancorbo F, Luangsa-ard J, Larsson E, Esteve-Raventós F, Bishop-Hurley S, Tan Y, Shivas R, Osieck E, Balashov S. (2023) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549. Persoonia 50:158-310. 10.3767/persoonia.2023.50.05
Crous P, Cowan D, Cruz R, Czachura P, De la Peña-Lastra S, Dovana F, Drury B, Fell J, Flakus A, Fotedar R, Jurjević Å, Chandranayaka S, Boekhout T, Osieck E, Shivas R, Tan Y, Bishop-Hurley S, Esteve-Raventós F, Larsson E, Luangsa-ard J, Pancorbo F, Balashov S, Baseia I, Kolecka A. (2023) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1478–1549 . Persoonia 50:58 – 310. 10.3767/persoonia.2023.50.05
Barnes I, Abdul Rauf MR, Fourie A, Japarudin Y, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Ceratocystis manginecans and not C. fimbriata a threat to propagated Acacia spp. in Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Forest Science 35:16-26. 10.26525/jtfs2023.35S.SI.16
Ratsoma FM, Mokoena NZ, Santana QC, Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET, Motaung TE. (2023) Characterization of Fusarium circinatum biofilm and its matrix’s environmental response role. RsearchSquare 00(00):00-00. 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3040583/v1
Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Mechanisms behind differential white grub host susceptibility to entomopathogenic nematodes. Nematology 10.1163/15685411-bja10253
Suzuki H, Marincowitz S, Rodas CA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2023) First report of two Chrysoporthe species, Chrysoporthe doradensis and Chrysoporthe colombiana sp. nov. from Henriettea seemannii pathogenic to Eucalyptus in Colombia. Mycological Progress 22(44) 10.1007/s11557-023-01891-8
Hough B, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield B, Read DA. (2023) Fungal viruses unveiled: A comprehensive review of Mycoviruses. Viruses 15(5):1202. 10.3390/v15051202 PDF
Paap T, Santini A, Rodas CA, Granados GM, Pecori F, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Myrtus communis in Europe threatened by the pandemic and South African strains of the myrtle rust pathogen Austropuccinia psidii (Sphaerophragmiaceae, Pucciniales). NeoBiota 84:41-46. 10.3897/neobiota.84.95823 PDF
Kunene S, Steenkamp E, Motaung T. (2023) Isolation of extracellular vesicles from pine (Pinus sp.) leaves and roots. RsearchSquare 00(00):00-00. 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2912064/v1
Solís M, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield MJ, Naidoo S. (2023) A robust disease scoring method to screen Eucalyptus for resistance against the aggressive leaf blight pathogen, Teratosphaeria destructans. Plant Disease:1418 - 1424. 10.1094/PDIS-06-22-1347-RE PDF
Pal E, Allison JD, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Fourie G. (2023) Life History Traits of the Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) for the Development of Pest Management Tools. Forests 14(5) 10.3390/ f14050861 PDF