My MSc project is focussed on barcoding endophytes present on the above ground regions of a E.grandis tree in South Africa.  Barcoding is a fairly new technique and is fast becoming a universal technique to identify species. The barcoding concept is based on the fact that organisms can be differentiated according to species identification genes such as the cox1 gene for animals. However for fungi, the internal spacer region (ITS) is accepted as the barcoding gene. Rapid advances in next generation DNA sequencing technology, such as 454 pyrosequencing, enable the development of routine procedures that positively impacts the DNA barcoding initiative. In my project I will combine DNA barcoding and 454 pyrosequencing to study the fungal endophytic community present in an E. grandis tree. We will be sequencing the ITS regions of cultured endophytic isolates as a metagenetic approach using pyrosequencing to identify fungal species inhabiting plant tissue. This combined approach is greatly helpful as overall knowledge of the biodiversity and systematics of fungal endophytes in South Africa is limited.