FABI News
20 Jun 2025
Strengthening mycology in South Africa: FABI hosts NICD researchers
FABI recently hosted a meeting to establish linkages between medical mycologists and those working mainly on fungi in the environment.
19 Jun 2025
FABIans conquer the 2025 Comrades Marathon
FABI is proud of Steven Shange and Josias Letaoana who conquered the gruelling Comrades Marathon.
13 Jun 2025
Science, culture, and collaboration: Mycobiomics Meeting at FABI
International visitors attending the Mycobiomics meeting at FABI also had a chance to go on several tours on the UP campus and visit the Pilanesberg National Park.
12 Jun 2025
FABI hosts an international Mycobiomics meeting highlighting global advances in fungal research
FABI recently hosted 40 international researchers from seven countries, where the team celebrated a successful 'Mycobiomics' project.
10 Jun 2025
FABIans visit Kenya for a Mycobiomics expedition
Three FABIans represented FABI at a recent during a multinational- collaborative Mycobiomics field expedition in Kenya.
FABI in a nutshell
Research Features
Review emphasizes the importance of understanding the genetics of sex determination for effective genetic pest management in insects.
Eleven new Penicillium and Talaromyces species discovered in South African culture collections.
A new study reveals the presence of Mycotoxins in Eastern Cape maize in South Africa.
Eurotiales update: FABIans Prof. Cobus Visagie and Dr Neriman Yilmaz and their collaborators have published a review of recently described Eurotiales species, including the economically important Aspergillus, Penicillium, Paecilomyces and Talaromyces.
Da Vinci's Yeast: FABIans Prof. Cobus Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz, and their collaborators have recently described and named a newly discovered yeast species of the famous Italian painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect Leonardo da Vinci.
The potential economic impact of the PSHB invasion in South Africa has been calculated to be a massive R275 billion over the next ten years, if nothing is done to stop the spread of this invasive beetle. Researchers from FABI collaborated with Stellenbosch University ecologists and economists to model the unmitigated economic impact of this invasion.
A recently published paper in the journal Current Forestry Reports documents a collaboration between an international team of forest pathologists and invasion scientists. Led by Dr Trudy Paap, the authors present a framework for conceptualizing and managing invasive forest pathogens.
A recently published review article by Dr Andi Wilson in a special issue of the journal 'Microbiology & Molecular Biology Reviews' provides details of the genes that are essential to the sexual cycle in filamentous Ascomycete fungi and further describes their functions in a variety of model and non-model species.
Penicillium section Canescentia re-evaluated and five new species described from the fynbos biome in South Africa.
In November 2019, the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology hosted a workshop on ‘Frameworks used in Invasion Science’. The workshop led to a NeoBiota special issue on this theme, and includes a review by FABI researchers and international colleagues, exploring frameworks in the context of forest pathology.
A doctoral study in FABI confirms for the first time the presence of Xylosandrus crassiusculus, a polyphagous ambrosia beetle and its fungal symbiont, Ambroseilla roeperi, in three provinces in South Africa. The authors warn that this beetle species could be a threat to native and plantation trees.
A review on invasive gall-forming wasps that threaten non-native Eucalyptus plantations by researchers in the TPCP appears in Agricultural and Forest Entomology. They profile several species of likely Australian origin that have established on non-native Eucalyptus plantations globally and discuss various challenges to their management.
A study in the TPCP confirms the identity of seven novel fungal species associated with Dendroctonus valens, the red turpentine beetle. The study follows on surveys on the fungal associates of the beetle in China and North America. Results from this work appear in Persoonia.
A postdoctoral study in the TPCP describes two novel Huntiella species in the African clade, bringing the number of known species in the genus to 31. Though closely related, the two species display different mating systems. Outcomes from this study appear in the journal MycoKeys.
A review of the invasion history and global management strategies of Eucalyptus snout beetles in the Gonipterus scutellatus species complex by researchers in the TPCP appears in the Journal of Pest Science.
In a collaborative venture with Dr Jos Houbraken (Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, the Netherlands), Prof. Cobus M Visagie, Dr Neriman Yilmaz (both from FABI) and others have recently completed and published a major study updating the taxonomy of the Eurotiales.
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 Shot Hole Borer is an ambrosia beetle native to Southeast Asia. In 2017 this pest was detected in South Africa. Its presence has since been confirmed in all provinces except Limpopo. The beetle has a symbiotic relationship with the fungus Fusarium euwallaceae, which causes branch die-back and death of susceptible trees.
Born in Australia.
Allistair was a postdoctoral fellow in FABI from 2014 to 2017. He is a mycologist interested in the systematics and identification of fungi. He has also worked as a science and maths teacher in the Australian state and private education systems. Allistair says “I take any opportunity to be creative, and science has largely inspired my portfolio of artwork on RedBubble.com”.
Ceratocystis is my mistress; Abstract Ceratocystis, Endoconidiophora, and Huntiella.
Abstract rust teliospores; Teliospores of Sphaerophragmium, Puccinia, and Uromycladium inspired by species from South Africa.
Oh oh oh Oomycete; Abstract Phytophthora, Pythium, and Plasmopara.
Born 1914, near Rustenburg - died in 2010.
Barnard studied at the University of Pretoria and painted for nearly 80 years of her life. During her career as one of South Africa’s most important woman artists, she represented the country at a number of international exhibitions, including the Xie Grand Prix International d’Art Contemporian de Monte Carlo in Monaco (1977), the 5th International Biennale for Graphic Art in Italy, the Gulbennkaian Exhibition in Portugal (1968), the Venice Biennale (1956 and 1964), and the São Paulo Biennale (1957, 1959, 1961 and 1963). She also exhibited in countries such as Austria, Germany, Spain, Greece and Israel to name a few. Her tapestries, paintings, and murals in oils have been commissioned both for public, museum and private collections in South Africa and abroad. She has won several major art awards, and received two honorary doctorates from South African universities.
The Art Historian, Muller Ballot, says the following about her work:
"The central message in her works… is certainly related to the artist’s serious search for a reconciliation of earthly and transcendental perspectives on human existence. Her reaching out to esoteric horizons, to the boundaries of time and space… seeks fulfilment in the symbolic values of the human figure. Sometimes these occur with, for example, strange alien beings, primeval animal forms, arrows and sharp triangular shapes."
Born in Vietnam.
Nam comes from Vietnam and joined FABI for postgraduate study in 2016 and is currently a PhD candidate in the Institute. Growing up with science runs in the family, Nam says, “I have long nourished an ambition to become a well-known plant pathologist.”
This kinship with the natural science world is the basis for his artwork. He is always trying to reach beyond the traditions, in which plant materials and different paint textures are usually brought together in a surface to describe the harmony he sees in nature and the universe. As a self-taught artist, Nam says he experiences peace during the process of creating his artworks.
Born in 1974, Polokwane, South Africa.
Wilsenach completed a BA (Fine Arts, 1996) and a MA (Fine Arts, 2002) from the University of Pretoria. He furthered his studies at the Accademia di Belli Arte in Genova, Italy (2004) and the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Germany (2005-2006), with governmental bursaries from the respective countries.
He has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions both in South Africa and abroad in prominent galleries and museums, such as the Pretoria Art Museum, Palazzo Ducale in Genoa, Villa Croce Museo d'Arte Contemporanea di Genova, Museum für Angewandte Kunst in Vienna, the Smithsonian Institute's Museum for African Art in Washington D.C., and the Newark Museum, New York.
He was granted a four year grant from the Spier Arts Trust Patronage Program (South Africa) to complete his large scale ‘Project for the Blind Astronomer ‘(2009-2013) which was exhibited at the Museum of African Design, Johannesburg, and the Stegman Gallery in Bloemfontein. Apart from various merit awards, Wilsenach won the PPC Young Sculpture's Award (1997) and the ABSA L'Atelier (2005).
Wilsenach is at present teaching as part time lecturer at the University of Pretoria and presents workshops on a regular basis at the Kunstakademie, Düsseldorf, Germany. He is currently working on a PhD in Visual Studies at the University of Pretoria on ideas around the philosophical sublime and its manifestation in astronomical cartography.
New Publications
Dewing C, Yilmaz N, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD, Visagie CM. (2025) Capturing the fungal diversity hidden in Eastern Cape dairy pastures. Mycological Progress 24(1):38.
10.1007/s11557-025-02059-2
Nel WJ, Duong TA, Fell S, Herron DA, Paap T, Wingfield MJ, de Beer ZW, Hulcr J, Johnson AJ. (2025) A checklist of South African bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae, Platypodinae). Zootaxa 5648(1):1-101.
10.11646/zootaxa.5648.1.1
Dewing C, Yilmaz N, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD, Visagie CM. (2025) Capturing the fungal diversity hidden in Eastern Cape dairy pastures. Mycological Progress 24:38.
10.1007/s11557-025-02059-2 
Chang R, Yan Z, Jiang J, Wang Y, Si H, Bose T, Miao C. (2025) Four novel endolichenic fungi from Usnea spp. (Lecanorales, Parmeliaceae) in Yunnan and Guizhou, China: Taxonomic description and preliminary assessment of bioactive potentials. MycoKeys 118:55–80.
10.3897/mycokeys.118.155248
Lötter A, Bruna T, Duong TA, Barry K, Lipzen A, Daum C, Yoshinaga Y, Grimwood J, Jenkins JW, Talag J, Borevitz J, Lovell JT, Schmutz J, Wegrzyn JL, Myburg AA. (2025) A haplotype-resolved reference genome for Eucalyptus grandis. G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics
10.1093/g3journal/jkaf112