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Research Articles (Microbiology and Plant Pathology): Recent submissions

  • The effect of iodine-containing nano-micelles, FS-1, on antibiotic resistance, gene expression and epigenetic modifications in the genome of multidrug resistant MRSA strain staphylococcus aureus ATCC BAA-39 
    Reva, Oleg N.; Korotetskiy, Ilya S.; Joubert, Monique; Shilov, Sergey V.; Jumagaziyeva, Ardak B.; Suldina, Natalya A.; Ilin, Alexandr I. (Frontiers Media, 2020-10)
    Application of supplementary drugs which increase susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics is a promising yet unexplored approach to overcome the global problem of multidrug-resistant infections. The discovery ...
  • Fitness of outer membrane vesicles from komagataeibacter intermedius is altered under the impact of simulated mars-like stressors outside the international space station 
    Podolich, Olga; Kukharenko, Olga; Zaets, Iryna; Orlovska, Iryna; Palchykovska, Larysa; Zaika, Leoni; Sysoliatin, Serhii; Zubova, Ganna; Reva, Oleg N.; Galkin, Maxym; Horid’ko, Tetyana; Kosiakova, Halyna; Borisova, Tatiana; Kravchenko, Volodymyr; Skoryk, Mykola; Kremenskoy, Maksym; Ghosh, Preetam; Barh, Debmalya; Góes-Neto, Aristoteles; Azevedo, Vasco; De Vera., Jean-Pierre; Kozyrovska, Natalia (Frontiers Media S.A., 2020-06)
    Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs), produced by nonpathogenic Gram-negative bacteria, have potentially useful biotechnological applications in extraterrestrial extreme environments. However, their biological effects under ...
  • Breed ancestry, divergence, admixture, and selection patterns of the Simbra crossbreed 
    Van der Nest, Magrieta Aletta; Hlongwane, Nompilo; Hadebe, Khanyisile; Chan, Wai Yin; Van der Merwe, Nicolaas Albertus (Albie); De Vos, Lieschen; Greyling, Ben; Kooverjee, Bhaveni B.; Soma, Pranisha Omduth; Dzomba, Edgar F.; Bradfield, Michael; Muchadeyi, Farai C. (Frontiers Media, 2021-01)
    In this study, we evaluated an admixed South African Simbra crossbred population, as well as the Brahman (Indicine) and Simmental (Taurine) ancestor populations to understand their genetic architecture and detect genomic ...
  • Current and potential threat of psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) on eucalypts 
    Makunde, Privilege Tungamirai; Slippers, Bernard; Burckhardt, Daniel; De Queiroz, Dalva L.; Lawson, Simon; Hurley, Brett Phillip (NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group), 2020)
    The introduction of Australian psyllids to non-native ranges across the globe is continually increasing. This is due to an increase in global trade and human movement, exacerbated by climate change. Several psyllids have ...
  • Genomic breeding for diameter growth and tolerance to Leptocybe gall wasp and Botryosphaeria/Teratosphaeria fungal disease complex in Eucalyptus grandis 
    Mphahlele, M.M. (Makobatjatji); Isik, Fikret; Hodge, Gary R.; Myburg, Alexander Andrew (Frontiers Media, 2021-02)
    Eucalyptus grandis is one of the most important species for hardwood plantation forestry around the world. At present, its commercial deployment is in decline because of pests and pathogens such as Leptocybe invasa gall ...
  • Expected benefits of genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in Eucalyptus grandis 
    Mphahlele, M.M. (Makobatjatji); Isik, Fikret; Mostert-O'Neill, Marja Mirjam; Reynolds, Sharon Melissa; Hodge, Gary R.; Myburg, Alexander Andrew (Springer, 2020-06)
    Genomic selection (GS) can substantially reduce breeding cycle times in forest trees compared to traditional breeding cycles. Practical implementation of GS in tree breeding requires an assessment of significant drivers ...
  • Grasses as a refuge for Fusarium circinatum L. – evidence from South Africa 
    Herron, Darryl A.; Wingfield, Michael J.; Fru, Felix Fon; Wingfield, Brenda D.; Steenkamp, Emma Theodora (NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group), 2020)
    Fusarium circinatum L. is an important pathogen in countries that grow and manage Pinus species. Approximately 50% or 600 000 ha of South Africa’s commercial plantations are planted to Pinus spp. and some of these are ...
  • Genomic evidence of introgression and adaptation in a model subtropical tree species, Eucalyptus grandis 
    Mostert-O'Neill, Marja Mirjam; Reynolds, Sharon Melissa; Acosta, Juan Jose; Lee, David John; Borevitz, Justin O.; Myburg, Alexander Andrew (Wiley, 2021-02)
    The genetic consequences of adaptation to changing environments can be deciphered using population genomics, which may help predict species' responses to global climate change. Towards this, we used genome‐wide SNP marker ...
  • Fungal genomes enhance our understanding of the pathogens affecting trees cultivated in Southern Hemisphere plantations 
    Coetzee, Martin Petrus Albertus; Santana, Quentin C.; Steenkamp, Emma Theodora; Wingfield, Brenda D.; Wingfield, Michael J. (NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor and Francis Group), 2020)
    Forest pathogens are a major cause of forest disturbances and they have a significant economic impact on commercial forestry. Genomics is an important technology now available for studies concerning tree health, enabling ...
  • Neotropical termite microbiomes as sources of novel plant cell wall degrading enzymes 
    Victorica, Matias Romero; Soria, Marcelo A.; Batista-Garcia, Ramon Alberto; Ceja-Navarro, Javier A.; Vikram, Surendra; Ortiz, Maximiliano; Ontanon, Ornella; Ghio, Silvina; Martínez-Avila, Liliana; Quintero García, Omar Jasiel; Etcheverry, Clara; Campos, Eleonora; Cowan, Don A.; Arneodo, Joel; Talia, Paola M. (Nature Publishing Group, 2020-03-02)
    In this study, we used shotgun metagenomic sequencing to characterise the microbial metabolic potential for lignocellulose transformation in the gut of two colonies of Argentine higher termite species with different ...
  • Shotgun metagenomic analysis of kombucha mutualistic community exposed to Mars‐like environment outside the International Space Station 
    Goes-Neto, Aristoteles; Kukharenko, Olga; Orlovska, Iryna; Podolich, Olga; Imchen, Madangchanok; Kumavath, Ranjith; Kato, Rodrigo Bentes; Santana de Carvalho, Daniel; Tiwari, Sandeep; Brenig, Bertram; Azevedo, Vasco; Reva, Oleg N.; De Vera, Jean-Pierre P.; Kozyrovska, Natalia; Barh, Debmalya (Wiley, 2021-07)
    Kombucha is a multispecies microbial ecosystem mainly composed of acetic acid bacteria and osmophilic acid‐tolerant yeasts, which is used to produce a probiotic drink. Furthermore, Kombucha Mutualistic Community (KMC) has ...
  • Genome streamlining in a minute herbivore that manipulates its host plant 
    Greenhalgh, Robert; Dermauw, Wannes; Glas, Joris J.; Rombauts, Stephane; Wybouw, Nicky; Thomas, Jainy; Alba, Juan M.; Pritham, Ellen J.; Legarrea, Saioa; Feyereisen, Rene; Van de Peer, Yves; Van Leeuwen, Thomas; Clark, Richard M.; Kant, Merijn R. (eLife Sciences Publications, 2020-10)
    The tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici, is among the smallest animals on earth. It is a worldwide pest on tomato and can potently suppress the host’s natural resistance. We sequenced its genome, the first of an ...
  • Research in COVID-19 times : the way forward 
    Pepper, Michael Sean; Burton, Stephanie G. (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2020-08)
    The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on research at universities. Universities around the world, including in South Africa, have been or are still closed as part of national lockdown strategies. Students have not ...
  • Poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) antimalaria conjugates of membrane-disruptive peptides 
    Jokonya, Simbarashe; Langlais, Marvin; Leshabane, Meta Kgaogelo; Reader, Paul W.; Vosloo, Johan A.; Pfukwa, Rueben; Coertzen, Dina; Birkholtz, Lyn-Marie; Rautenbach, Marina; Klumperman, Bert (American Chemical Society, 2020-11)
    The concepts of polymer–peptide conjugation and self-assembly were applied to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in the development of a targeted antimalaria drug delivery construct. This study describes the synthesis of α-acetal, ...
  • The phoma-like dilemma 
    Hou, L.W.; Groenewald, Johannes Zacharias; Pfenning, L.H.; Yarden, O.; Crous, Pedro W.; Cai, L. (Elsevier, 2020-06)
    Species of Didymellaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution and are geographically widespread, occurring in diverse ecosystems. The family includes several important plant pathogenic fungi associated with fruit, leaf, stem ...
  • Updating the taxonomy of Aspergillus in South Africa 
    Visagie, Cobus M.; Houbraken, J. (Elsevier, 2020-03)
    The taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Aspergillus and its associated sexual (teleomorphic) genera have been greatly stabilised over the last decade. This was in large thanks to the accepted species list published in ...
  • Classification of Aspergillus, Penicillium, Talaromyces and related genera (Eurotiales) : an overview of families, genera, subgenera, sections, series and species 
    Houbraken, J.; Kocsube, S.; Visagie, Cobus M.; Yilmaz, Neriman; Wang, X.-C.; Meijer, M.; Kraak, B.; Hubka, V.; Bensch, K. (Elsevier, 2020-03)
    The Eurotiales is a relatively large order of Ascomycetes with members frequently having positive and negative impact on human activities. Species within this order gain attention from various research fields such as food, ...
  • Evolution of lifestyles in Capnodiales 
    Abdollahzadeh, J.; Groenewald, Johannes Zacharias; Coetzee, Martin Petrus Albertus; Wingfield, Michael J.; Crous, Pedro W. (Elsevier, 2020-03)
    The Capnodiales, which includes fungi known as the sooty moulds, represents the second largest order in Dothideomycetes, encompassing morphologically and ecologically diverse fungi with different lifestyles and modes of ...
  • Host specificity tests reveals new host of a global biological control agent Psyllaephagus bliteus (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) 
    Bush, Samantha J.; Slippers, Bernard; Dittrich-Schroder, Gudrun; Hurley, Brett Phillip (Entomological Society of Southern Africa, 2020-09)
    Glycaspis brimblecombei (Hemiptera: Aphalaridae) is an invasive, sap-sucking eucalypt pest in various parts of the world. Psyllaephagus bliteus(Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) was first released as a biological control agent ...
  • Bark beetle mycobiome : collaboratively defined research priorities on a widespread insect-fungus symbiosis 
    Hulcr, Jiri; Barnes, Irene; De Beer, Z. Wilhelm; Duong, Tuan A.; Gazis, Romina; Johnson, Andrew J.; Jusino, Michelle A.; Kasson, Matthew T.; Li, You; Lynch, Shannon; Mayers, Chase; Musvuugwa, Tendai; Roets, Francois; Seltmann, Katja C.; Six, Diana; Vanderpool, Dan; Villari, Caterina (Springer, 2020-06-03)
    One of the main threats to forests in the Anthropocene are novel or altered interactions among trees, insects and fungi. To critically assess the contemporary research on bark beetles, their associated fungi, and their ...