Mr Taygen Fuchs
| PhD student | |
Department |
|
Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology |
|
| This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. |
Member of:
My Supervisor/s
| Primary Supervisor | |
| Brenda Wingfield | |
Co Supervisor |
|
| Cobus Visagie | |
| Mike Wingfield |
I am currently pursuing a PhD focused on advancing our understanding of Sporothrix, a group of fungi that includes important human pathogens. My research centres on the discovery and description of novel species, the development of molecular tools for detecting pathogenic Sporothrix in environmental samples, and genome-based comparisons to better define species boundaries and relationships. Together, this work aims to improve how these fungi are identified, classified, and monitored, with relevance for both environmental and public health contexts.
My MSc research explored fungal diversity within South African gold mine environments, with a particular focus on species of Sporothrix. This work highlighted these environments as reservoirs of previously uncharacterised fungal diversity, including many novel taxa. In addition, I investigated the population genetics of pathogenic Sporothrix species in South Africa, revealing the presence of a dominant clonal lineage and contributing to a better understanding of their distribution and epidemiology.
I joined FABI in 2022, where under the supervision of Prof. B Wingfield, my honours work focused on two closely related plant pathogens of the genus Berkeleyomyces. The work focused on designing molecular diagnostics and polymorphic microsatellite markers for two closely related species. The genetics tools developed will facilitate future research on the genetic diversity of these important pathogens.
Conference Contributions
Fuchs T*, Visagie C, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2026) Fungal diversity in South African gold mines: A hidden reservoir of novel taxa. 54th Biennial Congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP), Umhlanga, 18-21 January. Poster Presentation.
Fuchs T*, Visagie C, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2026) Species boundaries and genetic diversity revealed in archival South African clinical Sporothrix strains. 54th Biennial Congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP), Umhlanga, 18-21 January. Oral Presentation.
Fuchs T*, Vismer H, Visagie CM, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2024) Genetic diversity and population structure of clinical Sporothrix strains in South Africa. Joint South African Society for Bioinformatics (SASBi) and South African Genetics Society (SAGS) BIO2024 conference, Pretoria, 23-25 September. Poster presentation.
Fuchs T*, Vismer H, Visagie CM, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ (2024) Genetic diversity and population structure of clinical Sporothrix strains in South Africa. Joint South African Society for Bioinformatics (SASBi) and South African Genetics Society (SAGS) BIO2024 conference, Pretoria, 23-25 September. Oral presentation.
Fuchs T*, Visagie CM, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD (2024) Sporothrix and sporotrichosis in South Africa: The fungus and the gold mines. Medical Mycology Forum, Stellenbosch, South Africa. 26-26 August. Oral presentation.
Fuchs T*, Visagie CM, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD (2024) Cyclohexamide-tolerant fungi isolated from South African gold mine substrates. 32nd Fungal Genetics Conference, Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, USA, 12–17 March. Poster presentation.
My Journal Articles
| Publication |
|---|
| Fuchs T, Vismer HF, Visagie CM, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2025) Low genotypic diversity and first reports of clinical Sporothrix from retrospective samples in South Africa. Medical Mycology
10.1093/mmy/myaf102 |
| Coelho MA, David-Palma M, Aylward J, Pham NQ, Visagie CM, Fuchs T, Yilmaz N, Roets F, Sun S, Taylor JT, Wingfield BD, Fisher MC, Wingfield MJ, Heitman J. (2025) Decoding Cryptococcus: From African biodiversity to worldwide prevalence. PLOS Pathogens 21:e1012876.
10.1371/journal.ppat.1012876 |
| Fuchs T, Visagie CM, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2024) Sporothrix and Sporotrichosis: A South African perspective on a growing global health threat. Mycoses 67(10):e13806.
10.1111/myc.13806 |
| Aylward J, Wilson AM, Visagie CM, Spraker J, Barnes I, Buitendag C, Ceriani C, Del Mar Angel L, du Plessis D, Fuchs T, Gasser K, Krämer D, Li W, Munsamy K, Piso A, Price J-L, Sonnekus B, Thomas C, van der Nest A, van Dijk A, van Heerden A, van Vuuren N, Yilmaz N, Duong TA, van der Merwe NA, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2024) IMA Genome – F19: A genome assembly and annotation guide to empower mycologists, including annotated draft genome sequences of Ceratocystis pirilliformis, Diaporthe australafricana, Fusarium ophioides, Paecilomyces lecythidis, and Sporothrix stenoceras. IMA Fungus 15(1):12.
10.1186/s43008-024-00142-z |