For two weeks in March, FABIans will be privy to the skills and knowledge of Dr. Robert Waterhouse, an expert on comparative evolutionary and functional genomics of arthopods, and particularly disease-vector mosquitoes, from the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.
FABI’s Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions (MPPI) research group added value to their ongoing survey of fungal diseases in small-holder maize farms in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces by disseminating information about FAW to provincial agricultural extension officers and small-holder farmers.
FABI’s 2017 social calendar set off to a cracking start with an Easter-egg themed party on 19 April.
The Sci-Bono Discovery Centre in Johannesburg aims to help build South Africa’s science, engineering and technology capacity, especially through activities with learners.
FABIans set a new record in 2016 for the highest number of publications since the Institute was established in 1998.
The Forestry Molecular Genetics (FMG) research group in FABI had its first tree planting day of the year.
A delegation of five postdoctoral and doctoral students, and a technical staff member from FABI presented at the 8th IUFRO Phytophthora in Forests and Natural Ecosystems Meeting in Vietnam.
Phathi Sibanda is the latest postgraduate student at FABI to complete a PhD degree in 2017. She marked the occasion by delivering her prestige seminar in front of her family, friends and colleagues on 22 March.
During the week of 13th March, FABI Director Prof. Mike Wingfield visited Freiburg in Germany, primarily to meet with colleagues responsible for organising the IUFRO 125th Anniversary Congress to be held in Freiburg from 18-22 September 2017.
Dr. Michelle Schroder, a postdoctoral fellow at FABI is spending two months collaborating with researchers at the University of the Sunshine Coast’s (USC) Forest Industries Research Centre.
The European spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus, is the most damaging insect pest of palearctic forests.
FABI welcomed 17 DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health (CTHB) mentorship students at a function on 3 March.
Several FABI academics participated in a recent landmark International Practical Synthetic Biology Workshop sponsored by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF).
FABI has launched its Annual Blanket Drive in aid of those in need of warmth this coming winter. FABIans donated 200 blankets last year to Meet and Eat, an initiative run by six church dominations that provides meals for homeless people in the Hatfield and Hillcrest suburbs.
FABI has been developing relationships and collaborations with researchers at the Forest and Forest Product Research Institute (FFPRI) in Japan since 2007.
The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) and Southern African Macadamia Growers’ Association (SAMAC) have established a collaborative research partnership, the Macadamia Protection Programme (MaPP). This programme will address the threats posed by pests and diseases to Macadamia farming in South Africa.
During the past week, Prof. David Sillam-Dussès from the University of Paris visited FABI to do some field work as part of a collaborative research project.
Quentin Guignard, a PhD student in FABI, attended a camp for new Honours students organised by the University of Pretoria’s Department of Zoology and Entomology at the Kwalata Lodge in the Dinokeng Reserve from 7-10 February.
Jacqueline Meyer delivered her prestige seminar at FABI and successfully defended her PhD thesis on 8 February. The title of her presentation was: “RNA-Seq and metabolic profiling of resistant and susceptible sub-tropical maize lines reveals a role for kauralexins in resistance to grey leaf spot disease caused by Cercospora zeina”.
Members of the TPCP and CTHB at FABI gathered at the Uitspan Personnel Centre at the University of Pretoria’s LC de Villiers sports grounds for a day of discussions, feedback and sports on 3 February. The team was also introduced to Esna du Plessis, Ginna Granados, Rachel Mkandawire and Emeldah Rikhotso, who form part of the 2017 cohort of students working in the TPCP/CTHB Diagnostic Clinic.
A celebration was held at FABI on 6 February to mark the first publication in an ISI Rated Journal by five members of the TPCP research team.
Prof. Mario Rajchenberg of the National Scientific and Technical Research Council and the Research and Extension Center for Andean Patagonian Forests in Argentina visited FABI during the past two weeks.
Congratulations to four PhD students at FABI who submitted five winning posters in the CTHB Outreach Poster competition last year!
Prof. Mary Barbercheck from the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University presented a special seminar at FABI on 27 January. The occasion marked Prof. Barbercheck’s return visit to South Africa after more than 30 years as one of Birhan Abate’s PhD external examiners. She presented her seminar titled “Effects of soil characteristics and management of Metarhizium, a bifunctional fungus, in organic cropping systems”.
Birhan Abate is the latest student at FABI to complete a PhD degree and the first to deliver a prestige seminar in 2017. He passed his PhD oral examination on 27 January, a day after presenting his prestige seminar. Professor Mike Wingfield presented him with a framed certificate of completion, an award accorded to FABIans who reach this milestone, and congratulated him for his “trailblazing” work.
FABIans ushered in 2017 with a sumptuous breakfast and the annual group photo on 23 January. The day marked the first Monday Morning Meeting of the year and the resumption of research activities at FABI with staff and students returning from their annual year-end break.
The annual meeting of the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP) and DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB) is rapidly drawing closer. As has been the case in the past, the 28th annual meeting of the TPCP will focus on key issues relating to forest tree health in South Africa. We look forward to welcoming you in Pretoria and once again to use this opportunity to exchange ideas and to further the important goal of “KEEPING TREES HEALTHY”.
FABI PhD candidate Joey Hulbert has been awarded the Mathre Education Endowment for 2017 to help cover costs of public engagement in Cape Citizen Science. More information about the award can be found here.
One of the first FABI papers for 2017 was published online on January 17th in the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) with an Impact Factor of 9.423. Three members of the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme in FABI was involved in the work: Dr Eshchar Mizrachi was first author, with Prof. Zander Myburg the senior author, and Dr Nanette Christie a co-author together with a team of collaborators from Belgi
An unusual but important granite monument has stood steadfastly under a grove of magnificent plane trees near the entrance to Cedara Agricultural College for almost 20 years. The renovated Tooke monument was unveiled at a small ceremony attended by three generations of the Tooke family, FABI researchers and guests from Government, the South African forestry industry and associations. Addressing the guests, Dr. In his speech, FABI Director, Prof. Prof. Dr Brett Hurley, a forest entomologist that leads the forest insect biological control programme at FABI shared stories taken from the doctoral thesis of Dr.
On the last day of the SASPP a keynote lecture was presented by Prof. Dawn Arnold of the Sciences University of the West of England on "A persistent reservoir of a genomic island in Pseudomonas syringae pv. phaseolicola." Six talks were presented by FABIans, including Prof. Dave Berger, Dr Irene Barnes, Dr Almuth Hammerbacher, Dr Markus Wilken and students Rachel Mkandawire and Wilma Nel.
The second day of the 2017 congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) kicked off with the Ethyl M. Doidge Memorial Address delivered by Prof. Carolee Bull of Pennsylvania State University.
The organizers of the 2017 congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) introduced a new way in which students can present their posters. As is typical for congresses, posters were displayed in a hall separate from the auditorium where oral presentations took place. However, this year the authors of posters were provided two sessions in the main hall where they were each given 2 minutes to introduce their poster without the assistance of powerpoint slides.
The 2017 congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) took place last week at Champagne Sports Resort in the Drakensberg. This year the meeting commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Society, and this was celebrated by five past presidents of the Society popping champagne on the first evening. Forty six FABIans, including 36 students, attended the congress.
On Monday, 16 January, three FABI researchers, Prof. The title of the campaign is ‘Engage Kayamandi Youth in Cape Citizen Science with Vision Afrika’ and can be viewed here. Cape Citizen Science is an initiative to involve the public in research about the diversity and distribution of Phytophthora in the Cape floristic region. The researchers launched the crowd funding campaign to raise support for a partnership between FABI and Vision Afrika, a non-profit afterschool education program in Kayamandi.
Dr Robert Waterhouse from the University of Geneva presented a training course in arthropod genomics at Vodaworld in Midrand between 28 November and 1 December.