Publications

Mar 2024

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is the causal agent of Sclerotinia stem rot on peanut (groundnut) in South Africa

Bornman S, Thomas C, Ntladi S, Wilken PM

Australasian Plant Disease Notes

AbstractSclerotinia stem rot on South African groundnut was previously attributed to Sclerotinia minor, but recent infections...

May 2024

Sex pheromone receptor Ste2 orchestrates chemotropic growth towards pine root extracts in the pitch canker pathogen Fusarium circinatum

Ramaswe JB, Steenkamp ET, De Vos L, Fru FF et al.

Pathogens

In ascomycetous fungi, sexual mate recognition requires interaction of the Ste2 receptor protein produced by one partner with the...

Sep 2024

LAMP assay to detect Elsinoë necatrix; an important Eucalyptus shoot and leaf pathogen

van Heerden A, Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ et al.

Plant Disease

Eucalyptus scab and shoot malformation caused by Elsinoë necatrix is an emerging disease and a serious threat to the global...

Apr 2024

Expression of honey bee (Apis mellifera) sterol homeostasis genes in food jelly producing glands of workers

Abdullahi Yusuf, Christian Pirk , Anja Buttstedt

Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A Ecological and Integrative Physiology

AbstractAdult workers of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) acquire sterols from their pollen diet. These food sterols are...

Feb 2024

Best practices for colony management: a neglected aspect for improving honey bee colony health and productivity in Africa

Nganso, Beatrice T., Soroker, Victoria, Osabutey, Angelina F., Pirk, Christian W. W. et al.

Journal of Apicultural Research

Feb 2024

A Hitchhiker’s Ride: The Honey Bee Louse Braula Coeca (Diptera: Braulidae) Selects its Host by Eavesdropping

Yusuf, Abdullahi, Pirk, Christian, Crewe, Robin

Journal of Chemical Ecology

The bee louse Braula spp. had until recently a distribution coincident with its host the honey bee. The adult fly usually...

Apr 2024

Double-stranded RNA uptake for the control of the maize pathogen Cercospora zeina

Marais I, Buitendag C, Duong TA, Crampton BG et al.

Plant Pathology

Abstract RNA interference (RNAi) using double‐stranded RNA (dsRNA) against fungal pathogens is an emerging field of crop disease...

May 2024

Chrysoporthe brasiliensis sp. nov. pathogenic to Melastomataceae in southeast Brazil

Silva GA, Oliveira MES, Rêgo GMS, Wingfield BD et al.

Fungal Biology

Species in the Melastomataceae (Myrtales) include trees and woody shrubs that are amongst the most common hosts of Chrysoporthe...

May 2024

SeqCode facilitates naming of South African rhizobia left in limbo

Van Lill M, Venter SN, Muema EK, Palmer M. et al.

Systematics and Applied Microbiology

South Africa is well-known for the diversity of its legumes and their nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbionts. However, in contrast...