Mr Francois Van der Walt

MSc Student

Research Interests

The fungal biodiversity of our indigenous trees of South Africa are poorly studied, most likely because of the perception that the plants and their associated fungi are not economically important. It is known that South Africa has an extensive diversity of endemic trees and plants, so there is an excellent possibility that we also have a highly diverse mycoflora in South Africa. Due to this, it is highly likely that many undescribed and unique fungal species have not yet been discovered. By knowing and utilizing our own fungal biodiversity in South Africa, interesting possibilities and benefits to the economy of our country could be realized.

Due to the vast amount of plant species and diversity in the Northern Cape a project proposal was proposed for my honors to study the most prominent indigenous tree species in this area. The objective of this project was to determine the fungal biodiversity associated with indigenous trees in the Northern Cape. In total, 903 fungi were isolated from which 96 different species were identified and 64 were identified to genus level. There were also 29 unknown fungi that were isolated of which some included various coelomycetous and basidiomycetous fungi.

Results from my MSc also highlight this lack of knowledge regarding the fungal biodiversity of our native plant communities. In total 12 species of the Botryosphaeriaceae were identified on native Acacia spp. and one on a non-native Acacia sp. from southern Africa. Nine of the 13 species identified are described as new species. This clearly indicates that there is a significantly greater diversity in the Botryosphaeriaceae on Acacia spp. in southern and it also emphasizes the unexplored richness in the diversity of the Botryosphaeriaceae in southern Africa.

Posters and Presentations

• Van der Walt FJJ, Marais GJ, Lübben A. 2006.  Fungal biodiversity of indigenous trees and plants in the Northern Cape. Abstracts of the 44^th Congress of the South African Society for Plant Pathology, Magalies Park Country Club, 22-25 January 2006. p70.
• Van der Walt FJJ, Marais GJ, Lübben A. 2006.  Endophytic fungi associated with indigenous trees and plants in the Northern Cape. Abstracts of the 14^th Biennial Conference of the South African Society for Microbiology, CSIR International Convention Centre, 9-12 April 2006. p55.
• Van der Walt FJJ, Marais GJ, Slippers B, Roux J, Wingfield MJ. 2007. Botryosphaeriaceae associated with native Acacia spp. in Southern Africa. Abstracts of the 45^th Congress of the South African Society for Plant Pathology, Kopanong, 21 - 24 January 2007. p34.
• Van der Walt FJJ, Marais GJ, Slippers B, Roux J, Wingfield MJ. 2008. Botryosphaeriaceae associated with native Acacia spp. with special reference to Acacia mellifera (M. Vahl.) Benth. Biennial Conference of the South African Society for Microbiology (Bio-08), Rhodes University, 21-22 January 2008.