FABI News
2 Jul 2020
Dr Osmond Mlonyeni appointed as a Trustee of the Mandela Rhodes Foundation
30 Jun 2020
Dr Matthew Kasson presents the second FABI International Seminar
FABI’s second monthly International Seminar had Assistant Professor of Forest Pathology at West Virginia University Dr Matthew Kasson present a talk entitled: Deciphering fungus-arthropod interactions: from ambrosia fungi to cicada-killing “Zygomycetes".
26 Jun 2020
Scientists warn of increasing threats posed by invasive alien species
orestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) founding Director and immediate past IUFRO President Prof. Mike Wingfield joined a global group of invasion biologists to compile an important study warning of the threats posed by invasive alien species.
25 Jun 2020
"Crop Rotation” An important disease management strategy
In the latest issue of the magazin Pula Imvula, Dr Mahlane Godfrey Kgatle a postdoctoral Fellow at FABI has authored an article on crop rotation and its importance as part of a disease management strategy.
19 Jun 2020
Fungi in FABI lockdown! Discovering unexpected and hidden mycological gems
Research Features
A study in the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme at FABI interrogates the benefits of implementing genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in an established Eucalyptus grandis breeding programme in South Africa. Outcomes from this study appear in an article.
The first study on alternative weed and cultivated hosts of Spongospora subterraneaf. sp. subterranea (Sss), in southern Africa identifies two species as ideal trap crops for rotation with potatoes. The study also introduces three new families to the known hosts of Sss in the region.
A consortium of microbiologists from around the globe, FABI included, is pushing for an overhaul in how scientific names are assigned to uncultivated bacteria and archaea. Despite their ecological, agricultural and medical importance, these organisms traditionally have not been recognized by the international body governing the nomenclature of prokaryotes.
Professor Cobus Visagie is a researcher in the Applied Mycology group at FABI. One of the group’s research goals is to discover fungal diversity in South Africa, and Cobus’ research is strongly focussed on the economically important genera Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces.
Postdoctoral research by Dr Norman Muzhinji in the Potato Pathology Programme at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) sheds light on the genetic structure and diversity of Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea in four potato-growing regions in South Africa, providing valuable insights on its management.
An MSc study by Kira Lynn in the RGE-FABI Tree Health Programme at the University of Pretoria has described a new Fusarium species, Fusarium rekanum sp. nov., associated with Euwallacea perbrevis, an ambrosia beetle species infesting Acacia crassicarpa plantations in Riau, Indonesia.
FABI postdoctoral Fellow Dr Andi Wilson has established a CRISPR-Cas9-based genome editing protocol for use in Huntiella omanensis, a tree-inhabiting fungus belonging to the Ceratocystidaceae family.
Research undertaken as part of a PhD study by Molly Malefo at the University of Pretoria’s Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute sheds more light on the role of protease inhibitors in plants under drought stress.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) has funded a postdoctoral research project dedicated to monitoring plant health in botanical gardens and arboreta across South Africa. Two postdoctoral Fellows at the University of Pretoria’s Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute have held these fellowships.
The first comprehensive study mapping the distribution and genetic diversity of invasive Eucalyptus insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa confirms the presence of five major foliage-feeding species in 14 countries. The results of this study have implications on the quarantine, future research and management of these pests on the continent and beyond.
Dr Joey Hulbert broke new ground when he became the first candidate at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute to complete a PhD study incorporating citizen science. Citizen science is an approach that involves members of the public as active participants in scientific research.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
New Publications
Drenkhan R, Ganley B, Martin-Garcia J, Vahalik P, Adamson K, Adamcikova K, Ahumada R, Blank L, Braganca H, Capretti P, Capretti P, Cleary M, Cornejo C, Davydenko K, Diez J, Lehtiharvi H, Dvorak M, Enderle R, Fourie G, Georgieva M, Ghelardini L, Hantula J, Ioos R, Iturritxa E, Kanetis L, Karpun N, Koltay A, Landera E, Markovskaja S, Mesanza N, Milenkovic I, Musolin D, Musolin D, Nikolaou K, Nowakowske J, Ogris N, Oskay F, Oszaka T, Papazova-Anakieva I, Paraschiv M, Pasquali M, Pecori F, Rafoss T, Raitelaityte K, Raposo R, Robin C, Rodas C, Santini A, Sanz-Ros A, Selikhovkin A, Solla A, Soukainen M, Soulioti N, Steenkamp E, Tsopelas P, Vemic A, Vettraino A, Wingfield M, Woodward S, Zamora-Ballesteros C, Mullet M. (2020) Global geographic distribution and host range of Fusarium circinatum, the causal agent of Pine Pitch Canker. Forests 11(724):1-38.
10.3390/f11070724
Havenga M, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Dreyer LL, Roets F, Chen SF, Aylward J. (2020) Low genetic diversity and strong geographic structure in introduced populations of the Eucalyptus foliar pathogen Teratosphaeria destructans. Plant Pathology
10.1111/ppa.13235
Pysek P, Mandrak NE, Meyerson LA, Pauchard A, Pergl J, Roy HE, Seebens H, van Kleunen M, Vilà M, Wingfield MJ, Liebhold AM, Kühn I, Jeshke J, Hulme PE, Simberloff D, Bacher S, Blackburn TM, Carlton JT, Dawson W, Essl F, Foxcroft LC, Genovesi P, Richardson DM. (2020) Scientists' warning on invasive alien species. Biological Reviews
10.1111/brv.12627 
Marincowitz S, Barnes I, De Beer ZW, Wingfield MJ. (2020) Epitypification of Ceratocystis fimbriata. Fungal Systematics and Evolution
10.3114/fuse.2020.06.14
Mphahlele MM, Isik F, Mostert-O'Neill MM, Reynolds SM, Hodge GR, Myburg AA. (2020) Expected benefits of genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in Eucalyptus grandis. Tree Genetics & Genomes 16(49)
10.1007/s11295-020-01443-1
Vacant positions
Postdoctoral position in Biological Control of the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer
We seek to hire a postdoctoral research fellow to conduct mission-oriented research to develop and improve integrated pest management tactics and strategies for the Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB) and its Fusarium fungal symbiont in South Africa (www.fabinet.up.ac.za/pshb ). Emphasis will be on the potential biological control of this insect and/or its fungal symbiont. This position is part of a larger project on the PSHB invasion in South Africa, funded by the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF), based at FABI, University of Pretoria, and in collaboration with the Centre for Biological Control, Rhodes University.
Click here for more information about eligibility and how to apply
Covid-19 portal
