CPHB Team
UP Research Leaders Total:17
Prof Irene Barnes
Prof Martin Coetzee
Dr Nicky Creux
Prof Tuan Duong
Dr Gerda Fourie
Prof Almuth Hammerbacher 
Prof Brett Hurley
Dr Thabiso Motaung Motaung
Prof Bernard Slippers
Prof Emma Steenkamp
Prof Noelani van den Berg
Prof Albe van der Merwe
Prof Fanus Venter
Prof Cobus Visagie
Dr Markus Wilken
Prof Brenda Wingfield
Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology
DST / NRF SARChI Chair in Fungal Genomics
Prof Mike WingfieldExternal Research Associates Total:9
Dr Chrizelle Beukes
Dr Wubetu Bihon
Prof Treena Burgess 
Dr ShuaiFei Chen
Prof Pedro Crous
Dr Jeff Garnas
Dr Fahimeh Jami
Prof Jolanda Roux
Dr Magriet van der NestResearch Fellows Total:6
Dr Lieschen De Vos
Dr Gudrun Dittrich-Schroder
Dr Esther Muema
Dr Trudy Paap
Dr Michelle Schroder
Dr Neriman YilmazPostdoctoral Fellows Total:13
Dr Felipe Balocchi
Dr Tanay Bose
Dr Katrin Fitza
Dr Felix Fru
Dr Mesfin Gossa
Dr Quentin Guignard
Dr Aquillah Kanzi
Dr Agil Katumanyane
Dr Privilege Makunde
Dr Wilma Nel
Dr David Read
Dr Ariska van der Nest
Dr Andi Wilson Doctoral Students Total:36
Ms Omotayo Adegeye
Ms Juanita Avontuur
Mr Sikelela Buthelezi
Ms Annie Chan
Ms Claudette Dewing
Mr Philani Dlamini
Ms Firehiwot Eshetu
Ms Caitlin Gevers
Ms Ginna M. Granados
Mr Mathew Harris
Mr Darryl Herron
Ms Vaylen Hlaka
Ms Carlynn Jacobs
Ms Rosa Knoppersen
Ms Sithembile Kunene
Ms Frances Lane
Ms Kira Lynn
Ms Angel Maduke
Ms Dineo Mailula
Mr Mkhululi Maphosa
Mr Sicelo Masuku
Mr Lazarus Mavima
Ms Mandy Messal
Ms Rachel Mkandawire
Ms Sphumelele Mkhize
Ms Deborah Narh Mensah
Mr Nam Pham
Ms Jane Baile Ramaswe
Ms Manchela Francinah Ratsoma
Ms Myriam Solis
Mr Byron Sonnekus Sonnekus
Ms Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry
Ms Cheyenne Theron
Mr Garyn Townsend
Ms Nicole van Vuuren
Ms Lente van ZylMasters Students Total:40
Ms Shivan Bezuidenhout
Mr Callin Ceriani
Mr Ricu Claassens
Ms Vinolia Danki
Ms Deanné Du Plessis
Ms Bianca Hough
Ms Marizanne Jones
Ms Leandri Klynsmith
Mr Wisely Kola
Ms Daniella Krämer
Ms Mabodiba Maake
Mr Lukanyo Makhabane
Ms Keamogetswe Maswanganyi
Ms Langanani Matodzi
Ms Ongeziwe Mbhele
Ms Thembeka Mkhize
Ms Otlotleng Moloto
Ms Alice Mthembu 
Ms Sinethemba Nkosi
Ms Zinhle Annah-Gloria Nxumalo
Ms Chizné Peremore 
Ms Tshiamo Phakalatsane 
Ms Jenna-Lee Price
Ms Nombulelo Qikani 
Ms Jostina Rakoma 
Mr Innocent Rakubu 
Ms Lizzy Ramela
Ms Boitshoko Mercia Rammuki
Ms Claire Randolph
Ms Emeldah Rikhotso
Mr Preston Shaw
Mr Michal Slupski
Mr Hannes Strydom
Ms Zorada Swart
Ms Taponeswa Tasiya
Ms Chanel Thomas
Ms Dee Twiddy
Ms Alida van Dijk 
Ms Melandre Van Lill
Ms Anien ViljoenHonours Students
Ms Anthea le RouxNew Publications
Guignard Q, Johannes Spaethe, Bernard Slippers, Natasa Nikolic, Jeremy D. Allison. (2023) Eye morphology and colour preferences in a semi-field test of the pine pest, Sirex noctilio (Hymenoptera: Siricidae). African Entomology 31
10.17159/2254-8854/2023/a13406 
Aylward J, Ngubane NP, Dreyer LL, Oberlander K, Wingfield MJ, Roets F. (2023) Convergent evolution unites the population genetics of Protea-associated ophiostomatoid fungi. Fungal Ecology 63:101242.
10.1016/j.funeco.2023.101242
Tarigan M, Pham NQ, Jami F, Oliveira LSS, Saha MA, Duran A, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Calonectria species diversity on eucalypts in Indonesia. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science
10.2989/20702620.2023.2179441
Aylward J, Roets F, Dreyer LL, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Unseen fungal biodiversity and complex inter-organismal interactions in Protea flower heads. Fungal Biology Reviews 45:100317.
10.1016/j.fbr.2023.100317
Bose T, Hammerbacher A, Jones W, Roux J, Slippers B, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Hybrid vigor in Eucalyptus increases resistance against Phytophthora root rot. Mycological Progress 22:24.
10.1007/s11557-023-01877-6
Migliorini D, Auger-Rozenberg M-A, Battisti A, Brockerhoff E, Eschen R, Fan J-t, Jactel H, Orazio C, Paap T, Prospero S, Ren L, Kenis M, Roques A, Santini A. (2023) Towards a global sentinel plants research strategy to prevent new introductions of non-native pests and pathogens in forests. The experience of HOMED. Research Ideas and Outcomes 9:e96744.
10.3897/rio.9.e96744
Katumanyane A, Slippers B, Wondafrash M, Malan AP, Hurley BP. (2023) Susceptibility of white grubs from forestry and sugarcane plantations in South Africa to entomopathogenic nematodes. BioControl
10.1007/s10526-023-10185-7
Meinecke CD, de Vos L, Yilmaz N, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2023) A LAMP assay for rapid detection of th epitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum. Plant Disease
10.1094/PDIS-04-22-0972-SR
Raffa KF, Brockerhoff EG, Grégoire JC, Hamelin RC, Liebhold AM, Santini A, Venette RC, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Approaches to forecasting damage by invasive forest insects and pathogens: A cross-assessment. BioScience (biac108)
10.1093/biosci/biac108
Luki-Marie Scheepers, Jeremy D. Allison, Bernard Slippers, Egmont R. Rohwer, Patrick M. Mc Millan, Jan E. Bello. (2023) Pine Emperor moths from KwaZulu-Natal use the same pheromone component previously isolated from Nudaurelia cytherea (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from the Western Cape. African Entomology 31((2023)):1-9.
10.17159/2254-8854/2023/a13231
Mesarich CH, Barnes I, Bradley EL, de la Rosa S, de Wit PJGM, Gou Y, Griffiths SA, Hamelin RC, Joosten MHAJ, Lu M, McCarthy HM, Schol CR, Stergiopoulos I, Tarallo M, Zaccaron AZ, Bradshaw RE. (2023) Beyond the genomes of Fulvia fulva (syn. Cladosporium fulvum) and Dothistroma septosporum: New insights into how these fungal pathogens interact with their host plants. Molecular Plant Pathology 00:1-21.
10.1111/mpp.13309
Liang XY, Wang QC, Chen SF. (2023) Phylogeny, Morphology, Distribution, and Pathogenicity of Seven Calonectria Species from Leaf Blighted Eucalyptus in HaiNai Island, China. Plant Disease
https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-12-22-2802-RE
Liu Y, Chen SF. (2023) Diversity and Distribution of Calonectria Species in Soils from Eucalyptus urophylla × E. grandis, Pinus massoniana, and Cunninghamia lanceolata Plantations in Four Provinces in Southern China. Journal of Fungi 9(2):198.
10.3390/jof9020198
Makunde PT, Slippers B, Bush SJ, Hurley BP. (2023) Biology of the invasive shell lerp psyllid, Spondyliaspis cf. plicatuloides (Froggatt) (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae). African Entomology 31( e13747)
10.17159/2254-8854/2023/a13747
Eshetu FB, Barnes I, Nahrung FH, Fitza KNE, Meurisse N, Slippers B. (2023) Unexpected diversity in historical biological control programs: Population genetics of the nematode Deladenus siricidicola in Australia and New Zealand. Biological Control 180:105183.
10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105183
Morgan SW, Read DA, Burger JT, Pietersen G. (2023) Diversity of viroids infecting grapevines in the South African Vitis germplasm collection. Virus Genes
10.1007/s11262-023-01971-7
Hiroyuki S, Marincowitz S, Roux J, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2023) First report of canker caused by Chrysoporthe austroafricana on the plantation-grown eucalypt Corymbia henryi in South Africa. Forestry :1-9.
10.1093/forestry/cpac054
Bose T, Dovey S, Brachmann A, Witfeld F, Begerow D, Kemler M, Roux J, Slippers B, Vivas M, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Retention of post-harvest residues enhances soil fungal biodiversity in Eucalyptus plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 532:120806.
10.1016/j.foreco.2023.120806
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N. (2023) Along the footpath of Penicillium discovery: Six new species from the Woodville Big Tree Forest Trail. Mycologia 115:87–106.
10.1080/00275514.2022.2135915
Dzomba EF, Van der Nest MA, Mthembu JNT, Soma P, Snyman MA, Chimonyo M, Muchadeyi FC. (2023) Selection signature analysis and genome-wide divergence of South African Merino breeds from their founders. Frontiers in Genetics 13:932272.
10.3389/fgene.2022.932272
Kandasamy D, Zaman R, Nakamura Y, Zhao T, Hartmann H, Andersson MN, Hammerbacher A, Gershenzon J. (2023) Conifer-killing bark beetles locate fungal symbionts by detecting volatile fungal metabolites of host tree resin monoterpenes. PLoS biology 21(2):e3001887.
Visagie CM, Boekhout T, Theelen B, Dijksterhuis J, Yilmaz N, Seifert KA. (2023) Da Vinci's yeast: Blastobotrys davincii f.a., sp. nov. Yeast 40:7–31.
10.1002/yea.3816
van der Nest A, Wingfield MJ, Sadiković D, Mullett MS, Marçais B, Queloz V, Adamčíková K, Davydenko K, Barnes I. (2023) Population structure and diversity of the needle pathogen Dothistroma pini suggests human-mediated movement in Europe. Frontiers in Genetics 14(1103331)
10.3389/fgene.2023.1103331
David Read, Bernard Slippers, Emma Steenkamp. (2022) Genomic characterization of a novel potyvirus infecting Barleria repens in South Africa. Archives of Virology
10.1007/s00705-022-05662-w
Francina L. Bopape, Chrizelle W. Beukes, Kopotsa Katlego, Ahmed I. Hassen, Emma T. Steenkamp, Eastonce T. Gwata. (2022) Symbiotic Performance and Characterization of Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L. Millsp.) Rhizobia Occurring in South African Soils. Agriculture 13(1):30.
https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13010030
Bian C, Takashi H, Houbraken J, Visagie CM, Ban S, Yaguchi T, D'hooge E, Sklenár F, Kusuya Y, Hubka V. (2022) Reducing the number of accepted species in Aspergillus series Nigri. Studies in Mycology 102:95–132.
10.3114/sim.2022.102.03
David Read, Ronel Roberts, Goddy Prinsloo, Genevieve Thompson. (2022) Genomic and phylogenetic characterization of wheat yellows virus, a novel tenuivirus infecting wheat in South Africa. Archives of Virology
10.1007/s00705-022-05649-7
Wanjofu EI, Venter SN, Beukes CW, Steenkamp ET, Gwata ET, Muema EK. (2022) Nodulation and Growth Promotion of Chickpea by Mesorhizobium Isolates from Diverse Sources. MDPI-Microorganisms 10(12):1-16.
Osborn RK, Castro J, Duong TA, Hulcr J, Li Y, Martínez M, Cognato AI. (2022) Symbiotic Fungi Associated With Xyleborine Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) and the Imperative of Global Collaboration. Annals of the Entomological Society of America
10.1093/aesa/saac024
Pham NQ, Marincowitz S, Chen SF, Rodas CA, Wingfield MJ. (2022) Soil-borne Calonectria (Hypocreales, Nectriaceae) associated with Eucalyptus plantations in Colombia. MycoKeys 94:17-35.
10.3897/mycokeys.94.96301
Chang J, Duong TA, Schoeman C, Ma X, Roodt D, Barker N, Li Z, Van de Peer V, Mizrachi E. (2022) The Genome of the King Protea, Protea cynaroides. The Plant Journal
10.1111/tpj.16044
Wingfield BD, Berger DK, Coetzee MPA, Duong TA, Martin A, Pham NQ, Van den Berg N, Wilken PM, Arun-Chinnappa KS, Barnes I, Buthelezi S, Dahanayaka BA, Durán A, Engelbrecht J, Feurtey A, Fourie A, Fourie G, Hartley J, Kabwe ENK, Maphosa M, Narh Mensah DL, Nsibo DL, Potgieter L, Poudel B, Stukenbrock EH, Thomas C, Vaghefi N, Welgemoed T, Wingfield MJ. (2022) IMA genome‑F17. 13:19.
10.1186/s43008-022-00104-3
Candotti J, Christie N, Ployet R, Mostert-O’Neill MM, Reynolds SM, Neves LG, Naidoo S, Mizrachi E, Duong TA, Myburg AA. (2022) Haplotype mining panel for genetic dissection and breeding in Eucalyptus. The Plant Journal
10.1111/tpj.16026
Swalarsk Parry BS, Steenkamp ET, Van Wyk S, Santana QC, van der Nest MA, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield BD, De Vos L. (2022) Identification and characterization of a QTL for growth of Fusarium circinatum on pine-based medium. Journal of Fungi 8(11):1214.
10.3390/jof8111214
Sklenář F, Glässnerová K, Jurjević Z, Houbraken J, Samson RA, Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Gene J, Cano J, Chen AJ, Nováková A, Yaguchi T, Kolařík M, Hubka V. (2022) Taxonomy of Aspergillus series Versicolores: species reduction and lessons learned about intraspecific variability. Studies in Mycology 102:53–93.
10.3114/sim.2022.102.02
Wienk R, Mostert‑O’Neill M, Abeysekara N, Manosalva P, Freeman B, van den Berg N. (2022) Genetic diversity, population structure and clonal verification in South African avocado cultivars using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. Tree Genetics and Genomes 18(41)
10.1007/s11295-022-01573-8
Narh Mensah D, Wingfield B, Coetzee MPA. (2022) Nonribosomal peptide synthetase gene clusters and characteristics of predicted NRPS-dependent siderophore synthetases in Armillaria and other species in the Physalacriaceae. Current Genetics
10.1007/s00294-022-01256-w
Pal E, Allison JD, Guignard Q, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Fourie G. (2022) Characterisation of the Alarm Pheromone of Bathycoelia Distincta (Pentatomidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology
10.1007/s10886-022-01388-w
Ngo TT, Nguyen B-LT, Duong TA, Nguyen T-HT, Nguyen TL, Kieu KT, Do M-HT, Nguyen SV, Thang ND, Pham HTL. (2022) Polyphasic evaluation and cytotoxic investigation of isolated cyanobacteria with an emphasis on potent activities of a Scytonema strain. Frontiers in Microbiology 13:1025755.
10.3389/fmicb.2022.1025755
Glässnerová K, Kolařík M, Kubátová A, Siqueira JPZ, Gené J, Visagie CM, Yaguchi T, Houbraken J, Sklenář F, Hubka V. (2022) A monograph of Aspergillus section Candidi. Studies in Mycology 102:1–51.
10.3114/sim.2022.102.01
Solís M, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield MJ, Naidoo S. (2022) A robust disease scoring method to screen Eucalyptus for resistance against the aggressive leaf blight pathogen, Teratosphaeria destructans. Plant Disease
10.1094/PDIS-06-22-1347-RE
Balocchi F, Marincowitz S, Wingfield MJ, Ahumada R, Barnes I. (2022) Three new species of Pewenomyces (Coryneliaceae) from Araucaria araucana in Chile. Mycological Progress 21(92):1:23.
10.1007/s11557-022-01840-x
Guillino ML, Pugliese M, Pan X, Makkouk K, Loplan R, Juroszek P, Hurley BP, Garrett K, Chakraborty S, Angelotti F, Al-Jboory I, Albajes R, Stephenson T. (2022) Climate change and pathways used by pests as challenges to plant health in agriculture and forestry. Sustainability 14:12421.
10.3390/su141912421
Wilson AM, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2022) Truncation of MAT1-2-7 deregulates developmental pathways associated with sexual reproduction in Huntiella omanensis. Microbiology Spectrum 10(5)
10.1128/spectrum.01425-22
Hedlund BP, Chuvochina M, Hugenholtz P, Konstantinidis, Murray AE, Palmer M, Parks DH, Probst AJ, Reysenbach A, Rodriguez-R LM, Rossello-Mora R, Sutcliffe IC, Venter SN, Whitman WB. (2022) SeqCode: a nomenclatural code for prokaryotes described from sequence data. Nature Microbiology
10.1038/s41564-022-01214-9
Fru FF, Wingfield MJ, Roux J, Steenkamp ET. (2022) High diversity and clonality are hallmarks of Fusarium circinatum in South Africa. Plant Pathology
10.1111/ppa.13644
Venter SN, Palmer M, Steenkamp ET. (2022) Relevance of prokaryotic subspecies in the age of genomics. New microbe and New infections 48
10.1016/j.nmni.2022.101024
Read DA, Pietersen G, Slippers B, Steenkamp ET. (2022) Chrysanthemum virus B and chrysanthemum chlorotic mottle viroid infect chrysanthemum in South Africa. Australasian Plant Disease Notes
10.1007/s13314-022-00478-8
Laas M, Adamson K, Barnes I, Janoušek J, Mullett MS, Adamčíková K, Akiba M, Beenken L, Braganca H, Bulgakov TS, Capretti P. (2022) Diversity, migration routes, and worldwide population genetic structure of Lecanosticta acicola, the causal agent of brown spot needle blight. Molecular Plant Pathology 23(11):1620-1639.
10.1111/mpp.13257
Suzuki H, Marincowitz S, Winfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2022) Genetic diversity and population structure of Chrysoporthe deuterocubensis isolates from Melastoma and Eucalyptus in Malaysia and Indonesia. Forest Pathology
10.1111/efp.12762