Grain Research Programme

 

The Grain Research Program (GRP) is a newly established programme that was developed by a team of multidisciplinary grain researchers from different institutes and programmes at FABI and elsewhere in South Africa. The GRP was formed to engage directly with grain stakeholders to initiate research that will support this sector by identifying future challenges to the industry and exploring solutions to these challenges. To its stakeholders in agriculture, the GRP also provides extension and disease/pest diagnostic services. In other words, the vision of the GRP is to contribute to South Africa’s food security and bioeconomy by conducting basic and solution-oriented research, which in turn forms a base for further innovation in the South African agricultural sector. 

Other FABI programmes in the grain health domain:

Applied Mycology

Cereal Foliar Pathogen Research

DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology

Crop Floral Biology And Environments

Molecular Plant Physiology

Molecular Plant-Pathogen Interactions

Potato Pathology Programme

Seed Science

 

  

 

New Publications

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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
Pal E, Hurley B, Allison J, Slippers B, Fourie G. (2022) Potential management tactics hidden in the life cycle of stink bugs. SAMAC Journal :53-55.
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 PDF
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
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
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
Craze HA, Pillay N, Joubert F, Berger DK. (2022) Deep Learning Diagnostics of Gray Leaf Spot in Maize under Mixed Disease Field Conditions. Plants 11(1942):1-17. https://bit.ly/3vg484g
David A Read, Elrea Strydom, Bernard Slippers, Emma Steenkamp, Gerhard Pietersen. (2022) Genomic characterization of soybean blotchy mosaic virus, a cytorhabdovirus from South Africa. Archives of Virology 10.1007/s00705-022-05526-3
Crous PW, Aylward J, Marincowitz S, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, et al.. (2022) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1383–1435. Persoonia 48:261. 10.3767/persoonia.2022.48.08 PDF
Otlotleng Moloto, Gerhard Pietersen, Dirk Swanevelder, Genevieve Thompson, David Read. (2022) First report of grapevine polerovirus 1 in South Africa. Australasian Plant Disease Notes 17(1) 10.1007/s13314-022-00459-x
Chen Q, Suzuki H, Marincowitz S, Chen SF, Wingfield MJ, Winfield BD, et al. (2022) Genera of phytopathogenic fungi: GOPHY 4. Studies in Mycology 101:417-564. 10.3114/sim.2022.101.06
Ashtekar N, Rajeshkumar KC, Yilmaz N, Visagie CM. (2022) A new Penicillium section Citrina species and series from India. Mycological Progress 21:42. 10.1007/s11557-022-01802-3
Jami F, Marincowitz S, Durán A, Slippers B, Abad JIM, Chen S, Wingfield MJ. (2022) Botryosphaeriaceae diversity on Eucalyptus clones in different climate zones of Indonesia. Forest Pathology :1-14. 10.1111/efp.12737
Mavima L, Beukes CW, Palmer M, De Meyer SE, James EK, Maluk M, Muasya MA, Avontuur JR, Chan WY, Venter SN, Steenkamp ET. (2022) Delineation of Paraburkholderia tuberum sensu stricto and description of Paraburkholderia podalyriae sp. nov. nodulating the South African legume Podalyria calyptrata. Systematic and Applied Microbiology 45(3) 10.1016/j.syapm.2022.126316
Makwela MC, Hammerbacher A, Vivas M, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield BD, van Ede G, Bose T. (2022) Uncovering the mycorrhizal community of two Habenaria orchids in South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.02.020
Wingfield BD, De Vos L, Wilson AM, Duong AT, Vaghefi N, Botes A, Kharwar RN, Chand R, Poudel B, Aliyu H, Barbetti MJ, Chen S, de Maayer P, Liu F, Navathe S, Sinha S, Steenkamp ET, Suzuki H, Tshisekedi KA, van der Nest MA, Wingfield MJ. (2022) Draft genome assemblies of Fusarium marasasianum, Huntiella abstrusa, two Immersiporthe knoxdaviesiana isolates, Macrophomina pseudophaseolina, Macrophomina phaseolina, Naganishia randhawae, and Pseudocercospora cruenta. IMA Fungus 13(1):3. 10.1186/s43008-022-00089-z
Muema EK, Steenkamp ET, Venter SN. (2022) Rhizosphere diazotrophs and other bacteria associated with native and encroaching legumes in the succulent Karoo Biome in South Africa. MDPI-Microorganisms 10(216):1-20. 10.3390/microorganisms10020216 PDF
Makwela MC, Hammerbacher A, Coetzee MPA, Wingfield BD, van Ede G, Bose T. (2022) Fungal diversity associated with the mycorrhizosphere soil of Brachycorythis conica subsp. transvaalensis, a critically endangered and endemic terrestrial orchid from South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 00:1-8. 10.1016/j.sajb.2022.01.019
David A. Read, Genevieve D. Thompson, Nathan Le Cordeur, Dirk Swanevelder, David Read. (2022) Genomic characterization of grapevine viruses N and O: novel vitiviruses from South Africa. Archives of Virology 10.1007/s00705-021-05333-2
Avontuur JR, Palmer M, Beukes CW, Wai YC, Tasiya T, van Zyl E, Coetzee MPA, Stepkowski T, Venter SN, Steenkamp ET. (2022) Bradyrhizobium altum sp. nov., Bradyrhizobium oropedii sp. nov. and Bradyrhizobium acaciae sp. nov. from South Africa show locally restricted and pantropical nodA phylogeographic patterns. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 167 10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107338 PDF
Crous PW, Osieck ER;J, Shivas RG;Z, Bañares A;B, Burgess TI, Cabero J;C, Ferreira RJ;F, Ivanova DD;I, Lebeuf R;L, McTaggart AR, Mehrabi-Koushki M;M, Nel WJ, Nguyen TH;N, Reul M;R, Sato T;S, Tonegawa C;T, Visagie CM, C.M.; Vizzini A;V. (2022) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1284-1382. Persoonia - Molecular Phylogeny and Evolution of Fungi 47(6):1284-1382. 10.3767/persoonia.2021.47.06
Guignard Q, Allison JD, Slippers B. (2022) The evolution of insect visual opsin genes with specific consideration of the influence of ocelli and life history traits. 22:2. 10.1186/s12862-022-01960-8
Dittrich-Schröder G, Garnas JR, Arriagades-Cares D, Ahumada R, Hurley BP, Lawson SA, Slippers B. (2021) Diversity and Introduction History of Glycaspis brimblecombei Reflects a History of Bridgeheads and Distinct Invasions. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 4:1-11. 10.3389/ffgc.2021.783603
Wondafrash M, Slippers B, Asfaw BA, Makowe IA, Jenya H, Bush S, Kayumba I, Nambazimana A, van der Lingen S, Hurley BP. (2021) Tracing the distribution of natural enemies of non-native invasive eucalypt insect pests in sub- Saharan Africa. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science 83(3):1-10. 10.2989/20702620.2021.1960218
Houbraken J, Visagie CM, Frisvad J. (2021) Recommendations To Prevent Taxonomic Misidentification of Genome-Sequenced Fungal Strains. Microbiology Resource Announcements 10:e0107420. 10.1128/MRA.01074-20
Gevers CR, Slippers B, Germishuizen I, Dittrich-Schröder G, Hurley BP. (2021) The distribution and diversity of Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) and its gall associates in South Africa. Southern Forests 10.2989/20702620.2021.1944395
Pyrri I, Visagie CM, Soccio P, Houbraken J. (2021) Re-Evaluation of the Taxonomy of Talaromyces minioluteus. Journal of Fungi 7:993. 10.3390/jof7110993
Sun BD, Visagie CM, Chen AJ, Houbraken J. (2021) A taxonomic review of Penicillium section Charlesia. Mycological Progress 20(11):1383–1397. 10.1007/s11557-021-01735-3
NandaKafle G, Huegen T, Potgieter SC, Steenkamp ET, Venter SN, Brözel VS. (2021) Niche Preference of Escherichia coli in a Peri-Urban Pond Ecosystem. Life 11 10.3390/life11101020 PDF
Read DA, Thompson GD, Swanevelder D, Pietersen G. (2021) Detection and diversity of grapevine virus L from a Vitis cultivar collection in Stellenbosch, South Africa. European Journal of Plant Pathology 10.1007/s10658-021-02380-y
Visagie CM, Goodwell M, Nkwe DO. (2021) Aspergillus diversity from the Gcwihaba Cave in Botswana and description of one new species. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 8:81-89. 10.3114/fuse.2021.08.07
Thabiso E Motaung, Emma T Steenkamp. (2021) Extracellular Vesicles in Teasing Apart Complex Plant-Microbiota Links: Implications for Microbiome-Based Biotechnology. mSystems 6(4):e00734-21. 10.1128/mSystems.00734-21.
Guignard Q, Spaethe J, Slippers B, Strube-Bloss M, Allison J. (2021) Evidence for UV-green dichromacy in the basal hymenopteran Sirex noctilio (Siricidae). Scientific Reports 11(1):15601. 10.1038/s41598-021-95107-2 PDF
Creux NM, Brown EA, Garner AG, Saeed S, Scher CL, Holalu SV, Yang D, Maloof JN, Blackman BK, Harmer SL. (2021) Flower orientation influences floral temperature, pollinator visits and plant fitness. New Phytologist 10.1111/nph.17627
Jane Chepsergon, Thabiso E. Motaung, Lucy Novungayo Moleleki. (2021) “Core” RxLR effectors in phytopathogenic oomycetes: A promising way to breeding for durable resistance in plants?. Virulence 12(1):1921-1935. 10.1080/21505594.2021.1948277
Read DA, Roberts R, Swanevelder D, Pietersen G, Thompson GD. (2021) Novel viruses associated with plants of the family Amaryllidaceae in South Africa. Archives of Virology 10.1007/s00705-021-05170-3
Read DA, Roberts R, Thompson GD. (2021) Genomic characterization of two novel viruses infecting Barleria cristata L. from the genera Orthotospovirus and Polerovirus. Archives of Virology 10.1007/s00705-021-05150-7
Visagie CM, Frisvad JC, Houbraken J, Visagie A, Samson RA, Jacobs K. (2021) A re-evaluation of Penicillium section Canescentia, including the description of five new species. Persoonia 46:163-187. 10.3767/persoonia.2021.46.06