Senior Lecturer
I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, and the co-manager of the University of Pretoria Genomics Lab (UPGL).
I am interested in using genome and transcriptome sequencing information to answer research questions in plant and microbial Biodiversity, as well as organism populations and phylogenies.
Current research areas of interest include:
The effect of ploidy and genome structures on red grass (Themeda triandra) distribution and population distributions in South Africa.Developing genome tools to study the distribution of the four South African yellowwood species, Podocarpus latifolius, elongatus, P. henkelii and Afrocarpus falcatus.Investigating the genome components leading to tree resistance to the polyphagous shot-hole borer beetle, Euwallacea fornicates, and its Fusarium fungal symbiont.The study of fungal secondary metabolite biosynthesis clusters to find effector molecules aiding fungal infection of host plants.
I am the co-founder and co-manager of the University of Pretoria Genomics Laboratory (UPGL), a long-read DNA sequencing service laboratory offering Oxford Nanopore Technologies sequencing services to researchers in South Africa. The UPGL is a serve partner node for DIPLOMICS (www.diplomics.org.za) and is an active partner in their 1KSA initiative (www.1ksa.org.za) to sequence a thousand South African genomes of biodiversity interest.
Aveling TAS, De Ridder K, Olivier NA, Berger DK. (2020) Seasonal variation in mycoflora associated with asymptomatic maize grain from small-holder farms in two provinces of South Africa. Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development in the Tropics and Subtropics (JARTS) 10.17170/kobra-202011262275
Zumaquero A, Martinez-Ferri E, Matas AJ, Reeksting B, Olivier NA, Pliego-Alfaro F, Barcelo A, van den Berg N, Pliego C. (2019) Rosellinia necatrix infection induces differential gene expression between tolerant and susceptible avocado rootstocks. PLoS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0212359
Devnarain N, Crampton BG, Olivier N, van der Westhuizen C, Becker JVW, O'Kennedy MM. (2019) Transcriptomic analysis of a Sorghum bicolour landrace identifies a role for beta-alanine betaine biosynthesis in drought tolerance.. South African Journal of Botany 10.1016/j.sajb.2019.08.049
van den Berg N, Mohamed W, Olivier NA, Swart V, Crampton B. (2018) Transcriptome analysis of an incompatible Persea americana-Phytophthora cinnamomi interaction reveals the involvement of SA- and JA-pathways in a successful defense response. PLoS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0205705
Wingfield BD, Berger DK, Steenkamp ET, Lim H-J, Duong TA, Bluhm BH, De Beer ZW, De Vos L, Fourie G, Naidoo, K, Olivier NA, Lin, Y-C, Van der Peer Y, Joubert F, Crampton BG, Swart V, Soal N, Tatham C, Van der Nest MA, Van der Merwe NA, Van Wyk S, Wilken PM, Wingfield MJ. (2017) IMA Genome-F 8 Draft genome of Cercospora zeina, Fusarium pininemorale, Hawksworthiomyces lignivorus, Huntiella decipiens and Ophiostoma ips. IMA Fungus 10.5598/imafungus.2017.08.02.10
Reeksting B, Olivier N.A, van den Berg N. (2016) Transcriptome responses of an ungrafted Phytophthora root rot tolerant avocado (Persea americana) rootstock to flooding and Phytophthora cinnamomi. BMC Plant Biology 10.1186/s12870-016-0893-2
Muller MF, Barnes I, Kunene NT, Crampton BG, Bluhm B, Phillips S, Olivier NA, Berger DK. (2016) Cercospora zeina from maize in South Africa exhibits high genetic diversity and lack of regional population differentiation. Phytopathology 10.1094/PHYTO-02-16-0084-FI