A hearty congratulations to all the FABI graduates that were capped at the recent University of Pretoria Autumn Graduation ceremony! The group included three PhD, 11 MSc and 15 BSC Honours graduates. We wish them well in their future endeavors. Listed below is a list of the graduates conferred degrees and the titles of their dissertation. PHD Dr Felipe Balocchi Schalchli Thesis: Araucaria ( Araucaria araucana ) canker disease in Chile: etiology and fungal diversity Supervisor: Prof. I Barnes Co-supervisors: Prof. MJ Wingfield , Dr RJ Ahumada (Arauco, Chile) Dr Privilege Makunde Thesis: Biology and ecology of Eucalyptus psyllid pests in South Africa Supervisor: Prof. BP Hurley Co-supervisor: Prof. B Slippers Dr Silindile Maphosa Thesis: Secretome analyses of selected Pectobacterium brasiliense 1692 secretion systems Supervisor: Prof. LN Moleleki MSc (* with Distinction) Valencia Mogashoa Dissertation: Development of a Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) model for screening susceptible and resistant Eucalyptus clones against Chrysoporthe austroafricana Supervisor: Prof. S Naidoo Co-supervisor: Prof. P Bonello (The Ohio State University, United States of America) Casey Gill Dissertation: Metabarcoding of the fungal mutualists associated with Xylosandrus crassiusculus found on avocado in South Africa Supervisor: Prof. N van den Berg Co-supervisors: Dr J Engelbrecht, Dr G Fourie Mmapaseka Malebe Dissertation: Bacterial community associated with Acacia crassicarpa seeds and cotyledons Supervisors: Prof. TA Coutinho Co-supervisor: Dr G Shin Nomaswazi Maseko Dissertation: Transcriptional elements in the Ceratocystidaceae Supervisor: Dr PM Wilken Co-supervisors: Prof. ET Steenkamp , Prof. BD Wingfield Ongeziwe Mbhele Dissertation: Phenotype-genotype distinctions among clones of the pine pitch canker pathogen, Fusarium circinatum Supervisor: Prof. ET Steenkamp Co-supervisors: Prof. A Hammerbacher , Dr FF Fru , Dr QC Santana, Dr MA van der Nest Chizné Peremore * Dissertation: Biofilms and extracellular vesicles of Fusarium verticillioides and their implication for virulence Supervisor: Dr TE Motaung Co-supervisors: Prof. ET Steenkamp, Dr QC Santana Jenna-Lee Price * Dissertation: The fungal diversity associated with maize from emerging farms in the Eastern Cape, South Africa Supervisor: Prof. CM Visagie Co-supervisor: Dr N Yilmaz Nombulelo Qikani Dissertation: The fungal and oomycete diversity associated with commercial maize farm soils of South Africa Supervisor: Prof. CM Visagie Co-supervisors: Prof. ET Steenkamp, Dr N Yilmaz Kothibe Sedibane* Dissertation: The role of Pectobacterium brasiliense 1692 outer membrane vesicles on members of soft rot Enterobacteriaceae and Phytophthora parasitica Supervisor: Prof. LN Moleleki Co-supervisor: Dr TE Motaun Cheyenne Theron * Dissertation: Characterization of Lecanosticta and Lophodermium species on non-native pines in the southern Hemisphere Supervisor: Prof. I Barnes Co-supervisor: Prof. MJ Wingfield Nicole van Vuuren * Dissertation: Fungal diversity in Namibian Stipagrostis ‘fairy circles” including the description of new Curvularia species Supervisor: Dr N Yilmaz Co-supervisors: Prof. CM Visagie, Prof. MJ Wingfield BSC Hons Susanna Anbu Yuvaan Bhimsan Ryan Bosch Taygen Fuchs Christiaan Grobler Aaron Harvey Brittney Jamieson Shalya Moodley Monique Muller Kiara Munsamy Anicka Nel Anja Piso Rorisang Tomotomo Bertus van Rooy Rodé Visser Inqaba Biotec Prize To the student with the highest weighted average in the BScHons Biotechnology study programme: Rodé Visser