MPPI Team

Academic Staff and Research Leaders Total:3

Prof Dave Berger
Plant and Soil Sciences
Professor
Principal Investigator
Dr David Livingstone Nsibo
Plant and Soil Sciences
Lecturer
Dr Nicky Olivier
Plant and Soil Sciences
Senior Lecturer

Postdoctoral Fellows Total:1

Dr Tanya Welgemoed
FABI
Postdoctoral Fellow

Doctoral Students Total:3

Ms Jana Botes
Plant and Soil Sciences
PhD student
Mr Trystan Nadasen
Plant and Soil Sciences
PhD student
Mr Nkosinathi Sthembiso Ndaba
Plant and Soil Sciences
PhD student

Masters Students Total:1

Ms Xin Yi Jessie Sherriffs
Plant and Soil Sciences
MSc student

Honours Students Total:1

Ms Lizelle Gordon
Plant and Soil Sciences
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New Publications

Nadasen TR, Hein I, Berger DK. (2026) Structural phylogenetics identifies conserved effector families and cell death-inducing proteins from Cercospora zeina. Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions First Look 10.1094/MPMI-05-26-0048-R
Botha I, Maduna SN, Hagen SB, Lall N, Berger DK. (2026) 3RAD-guided SNP discovery for species identification and conservation of the medicinal southern African tree Genus Greyia Hook. & Harv.. Ecology and Evolution 16(5):e73412, 1-29. 10.1002/ece3.73412
Botha I, De Canha MN, Oberlander K, Botes J, Lall N, Berger DK. (2025) DNA barcoding and anti-tyrosinase activities of three species-representative populations of the genus Greyia Hook & Harv. South African Journal of Botany 189:55-67. 10.1016/j.sajb.2025.11.035
Nadasen T, Buitendag C, Visser R, Welgemoed T, Hein I, Berger DK. (2025) A latent invader: transcriptomics reveals Cercospora zeina’s stealth infection strategy of maize and immune-activating effectors. Frontiers in Plant Science 16:1-23. 10.3389/fpls.2025.1703682
Botes J, Ma X, Chang J, Van de Peer Y, Berger DK. (2025) Flavonoids and anthocyanins in seagrasses: implications for climate change adaptation and resilience. Frontiers in Plant Science 15(1520474):1-17. 10.3389/fpls.2024.1520474