FABI News
6 Dec 2019
FABI participates in first annual meeting of the HOMED project
The First Annual Meeting of the HOMED project was held from 27-29 November in Padova, Italy.
6 Dec 2019
Two FABIans awarded the best presentation at the Zoology AGM
The University of Pretoria's Department of Zoology and Entomology held its annual general meeting on 28-29 November.
5 Dec 2019
Fifteen FABI PhDs for the year as Andi Wilson completes her PhD
Andi Wilson has become the 15th FABIan to successfully complete their PhD, thereby closing off a remarkable year for the Institute.
4 Dec 2019
FABIans feature at the French-SA Science and Innovation days
The French-South African Science and Innovation Days was held in the CSIR from 2-3 December.
29 Nov 2019
FABIans present at the Australasian Plant Pathology Society conference
Research Features
The Polyphagous Shothole Borer (PHSB) was discovered for the first time in South Africa by the FABI team in 2017. Since then, this beetle and its fungus have been found killing trees in all provinces in South Africa, except Mpumalanga. It attacks agricultural and forestry crops, street and garden trees, as well as several native tree species.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Workshops & Symposia
New Publications
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Vanderwolf K, Renaud JB, Sumarah MW, Houbraken J, Assebgui R, Seifert KA, Malloch D. (2020) Penicillium diversity in Canadian bat caves, including a new species, P. speluncae. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 5:1-15.
10.3114/fuse.2020.05.01
Yin M, Wingfield MJ, Zhou X, Linnakoski R, de Beer ZW. (2019) Taxonomy and phylogeny of the Leptographium olivaceum complex (Ophiostomatales, Ascomycota), including descriptions of six new species from China and Europe. MycoKeys 60:93-123.
10.3897/mycokeys.60.39069
Allison JD, Bernard Slippers, Marc Bouwer, Hurley BP. (2019) Simulated leks increase the capture of female Sirex noctilio in the absence of host volatiles. International Journal of Pest Management
10.1080/09670874.2019.1695074
Granados GM, McTaggart AR, Rodas CA, Roux J, Wingfield MJ. (2019) Species of Cryphonectriaceae occupy an endophytic niche in the Melastomataceae and are putative latent pathogens of Eucalyptus. European Journal of Plant Pathology
10.1007/s10658-019-01887-9
Hirsch H, Wingfield MJ, van Wilgen B, Ruwanza S, Klein H, Keet JH, Jones W, Hurley BP, Harding G, Geldenhuys CJ, Geerts S, Cheek M, Canavan S, Allsopp MH, Richardson DM. (2019) Eucalyptus camaldulensis in South Africa - past, present, future. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa
10.1080/0035919X.2019.1669732
Vacant positions
Lecturer / Senior Lecturer (One Post) (Two Year Contract)
The University of Pretoria wishes to invite the applications for a lecturer/senior lecturer position (two year contract) at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), and affiliated with the Department of Zoology and Entomology or Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology. The candidate will be part of a world-class research team working on tree health and agricultural research and will have the opportunity to undertake entomological research, undergraduate and honours teaching, and postgraduate student supervision. Additionally, the candidate will have the opportunity to engage with a broad range of stakeholders linked to the Institute including international collaborators, local government and industry, as well as funding organisations that provide external support for FABI’s research.
Click here for more information on the requirements and on how to apply.
The closing date for application is 13 December 2019.