Dr Claudette Dewing



Postdoctoral Fellow

Department

FABI
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Fusarium species play diverse and important roles in many aspects of life, including plant, human and animal health. This makes accurate species identification incredibly important. Macro- and micromorphological features, which remain essential for accurate identification—especially in regions with limited access to molecular tools—are still lacking for many important Fusarium species. High-quality photoplates enable rapid, preliminary identification in diagnostic and field settings. Additionally, many described Fusarium species still lack genomic and secondary metabolite data, despite the critical role of fungal metabolites in agriculture and food safety. My project will integrate morphology, genome sequencing and biosynthesis gene cluster characterisation to explore species diversity and metabolomic potential. This will not only maintain taxonomic continuity but also enhance identification resources and provide valuable educational materials for mycologists and plant pathologists.

News

Claudette Dewing completes Her PhD on fungal diversity in dairy pastures

ABI recently celebrated the successful completion of Claudette Dewing’s PhD

FABI opens its doors for undergraduate students to “meet the scientists”

The CTHB Outreach Team at FABI hosted “Meet the scientists” information sessions for undergraduate students at the University of Pretoria on 26 and 27 February.

CTHB welcomes 20 students into its Mentorship Programme

Twenty undergraduate students will gain hands-on scientific research experience as mentees in the CTHB Mentorship Programme.

FABIans flexed their green fingers at 2019’s first tree planting session

A team of about 40 students spent the morning on 21 March replanting 1600 cuttings into potting bags at the FABI nursery on the University of Pretoria’s experimental farm.

Busy week in the field for the TPCP

In the week of 4 March, the TPCP had three different field trips to the KwaZulu-Natal, Midlands.

Mammoth inoculation trial of pine seedlings

Late in 2018, 14 FABIans banded together for the mammoth task of inoculating and disease assessment of 6,360 Pinus patula seedlings with 159 Fusarium circinatum isolates.

A SPOOF on a SPOOF

In March 2018 four FABIans won prizes at the South African Society of Microbiology Congress.

Export to RIS
Publication
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
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 PDF
Dewing C, Visagie CM, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD, Yilmaz N. (2025) Three new species of Fusarium (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales) isolated from Eastern Cape dairy pastures in South Africa. MycoKeys 115:241–271. 10.3897/mycokeys.115.148914 PDF
Dankie VN, Steenkamp ET, De Vos L, Swalarsk-Parry BS, Dewing C, Fru F, Wilken PM, Mchunu NP, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, van der Nest MA. (2025) Growth, pathogenicity and sexual fertility of the African tree pathogen Ceratocystis albifundus. Journal of Plant Pathology 107:125–135. 10.1007/s42161-024-01634-y PDF
Swalarsk-Parry BS, De Vos L, Fru FF, Santana QC, van der Nest MA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Herron DA, Ramaswe JB, Dewing C, Sayari M, van der Merwe NA, van Wyk S, Lane FA, Wilson AM, Adegeye OO, Soal NC, Price J-L, Steenkamp ET. (2024) Wide variation in aggressiveness and growth in South African Fusarium circinatum isolates with geographical origin as the primary determinant. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 10.2989/20702620.2024.2363749
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Allison JD, Barreto RW, Boekhout T, Boers J, Delgado MA, Dewing C, Fitza KNE, Furtado ECA, Gaya E, Hill R, Hobden A, Hu DM, Hülsewig T, Khonsanit A, Luangsa-Ard JJ, Mthembu A, Pereira CM, Price J-L, Pringle A, Qikani N, Sandoval-Denis M, Shumacher RK, Seifert KA, Slippers B, Tennakoon DS, Thanakitpipattana D, vanVuuren N, Groenewald JZ, Crous PW. (2024) New and Interesting Fungi. 7.. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 13:441–494. 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.12 PDF
Dewing C, van der Nest MA, Santana QC, Proctor RH, Wingfield BD, Steenkamp ET, De Vos L. (2022) Characterization of host-specific genes from Pine- and grass-associated species of the Fusarium fujikuroi species complex. Pathogens 11:858. 10.3390/pathogens11080858