TPCP Team
Group Leaders
Prof Bernard SlippersUP Research Leaders Total:17
Prof Irene Barnes
Prof Martin Coetzee
Prof Tuan Duong
Prof Almuth Hammerbacher 
Prof Brett Hurley
Prof Tjaart Krüger
Dr Thabiso Motaung Motaung
Prof Sanushka Naidoo
Prof Emma Steenkamp
Prof Noelani van den Berg
Prof Albe van der Merwe
Prof Fanus Venter
Prof Cobus Visagie
Dr Markus Wilken
Prof Brenda Wingfield
Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology
DST / NRF SARChI Chair in Fungal Genomics
Prof Mike Wingfield
Dr Neriman YilmazExternal Research Associates Total:11
Prof Jeremy Allison
Dr Wubetu Bihon
Prof Treena Burgess 
Dr ShuaiFei Chen
Prof Pedro Crous
Dr Jeff Garnas
Dr Ilaria Germishuizen
Dr Mesfin Gossa
Dr Chrizelle Krynauw (née Beukes)
Dr Carlos Rodas
Prof Jolanda RouxResearch Fellows Total:6
Dr Janneke Aylward
Dr Tanay Bose
Dr Lieschen De Vos
Dr Gudrun Dittrich-Schroder
Dr Trudy Paap
Dr Michelle SchroderPostdoctoral Fellows Total:8
Dr Felipe Balocchi
Dr Firehiwot Eshetu
Dr WenWen Li
Dr Privilege Makunde
Dr Marzieh Mehrabioon-Mohammadi
Dr Nam Pham
Dr Myriam Solis
Dr Ariska van der NestDoctoral Students Total:36
Ms Omotayo Adegeye
Mr Callin Ceriani
Mr Johannes Christoff Joubert
Ms Claudette Dewing
Mr Lihan Esterhuizen
Ms Caitlin Gevers
Ms Ginna M. Granados
Mr Mathew Harris
Mr Darryl Herron
Ms Vaylen Hlaka
Ms Sithembile Kunene
Ms Frances Lane
Ms Kira Lynn
Ms Mabodiba Maake
Mr Mkhululi Maphosa
Mr Sicelo Masuku
Mr Lazarus Mavima
Mr Khulekani Cyprian Mbatha
Ms Pfano Mbedzi
Mr Tshepo Joseph Mmushi
Ms Ruth Nante
Mr Siphephelo Phungula
Ms Jenna-Lee Price
Ms Jane Baile Ramaswe
Ms Manchela Francinah Ratsoma
Ms Luki-Marie Scheepers
Mr Preston Shaw
Ms Nomfundo Shinga
Ms Benedicta Swalarsk-Parry
Ms Cheyenne Theron
Mr Garyn Townsend
Ms Alida van Dijk 
Ms Melandre Van Lill
Ms Lente van Zyl
Mr Edwin WanjofuMasters Students Total:26
Ms Jade Ashmore
Mr Adam Bazerbachi
Mr Taygen Fuchs
Mr Johan F. Griesel
Mr Christiaan Grobler
Mr Lehlohonolo Hlahane
Ms Brittney-Aidan Jamieson
Ms Zimazile Jazi
Mr Nigel Kombora
Mr Kyle Leeuwendaal
Ms Chulumanco Majavu
Ms Ongeziwe Mbhele
Ms Monique Muller
Ms Kiara Munsamy
Ms Anja Piso
Ms Lizzy Ramela
Ms Vera Röder
Mr Alinaswe Selebi
Mr Drake Slabbert
Mr Michal Slupski
Mr Hannes Strydom
Ms Taponeswa Tasiya
Mr Grant Terblanche
Mr Bertus van Rooy
Ms Anien Viljoen
Mr Nkhoye ZondoHonours Students Total:4
Ms Janie Coetzer
Mr Kyle Craninx
Ms Jennifer Gomes de Freitas 
Ms Promise NdlovuNew Publications
Cho SE, Seo ST, Nam Y, Wingfield MJ, Lee DY. (2024) Chalaropsis pruni sp. nov. (Ceratocystidaceae), a new species from Prunus serrulata var. pubescens in South Korea. Phytotaxa 671(2):191-197.
10.11646/phytotaxa.671.2.8
Balocchi F, Wingfield MJ, Paap T. (2024) First Report of Fusarium Wilt and Pink Rot of Phoenix canariensis in South Africa. Forest Pathology
10.1111/efp.70001 
Makunde PT, Slippers B, Hurley BP. (2024) Exploring the diversity of leafrollers (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) associated with eucalypts in South African forestry nurseries and plantations, with a new report of Strepsicrates sp.. Southern Forests 86(4):1-8.
10.2989/20702620.2024.2394219
Fuchs T, Visagie CM, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2024) Sporothrix and Sporotrichosis: A South African perspective on a growing global health threat. Mycoses 67(10):e13806.
10.1111/myc.13806
van Heerden A, Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Wilken PM. (2024) Six type-I PKS classes and highly conserved melanin and elsinochrome gene clusters found in diverse Elsinoë species. BMC Genomics 25:990.
10.1186/s12864-024-10920-z
Makunde PT, Slippers B, Hurley BP. (2024) First report of the giant conifer aphid, Cinara pinivora (Wilson) and the Monterey pine aphid, Essigella californica (Essig) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in South Africa. Southern Forests 86:1-5.
10.2989/20702620.2024.2394218
Pham NQ, Wingfield BD, Barnes I, Gazis R, Wingfield MJ. (2024) Elsinoe species: The rise of scab diseases. Plant Pathology
10.1111/ppa.14015
Vilanova L, Caballol M, Zhang K, Olson Å, Barnes I, Wingfield MJ, Oliva J. (2024) New simple sequence repeat markers reveal undetected diversity in Spanish and Californian Diplodia sapinea populations. Fungal Genetics and Biology 175:103937.
10.1016/j.fgb.2024.103937
Hough B, Wingfield B, Read DA. (2024) Identification and characterization of mycoviruses in transcriptomes from the fungal family Ceratocystidaceae. Virus Genes
10.1007/s11262-024-02112-4
Bose T, Mahomed TG, Mbatha KC, Joubert JC, Hammerbacher A. (2024) Tissue ontogeny and chemical composition influence bacterial biodiversity in the wood and shoot tip of Populus nigra. Plant Biology :1-11.
10.1111/plb.13724
Aylward J, Marincowitz S, Basson RJ, Rippon W, Wingfield MJ, Roets F. (2024) Four new Geosmithia species from bark beetles infesting indigenous South African trees. Fungal Biology
10.1016/j.funbio.2024.09.006
Nel WJ, Randolph C, Paap T, Hurley BP, Slippers B, Barnes I, Wingfield MJ. (2024) Fusarium species associated with Euwallacea xanthopus in South Africa, including two novel species. Mycologia :1-20.
10.1080/00275514.2024.2394758
Swalarsk-Parry BS, De Vos L, Fru FF, Santana QC, van der Nest MA, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, Herron DA, Ramaswe JB, Dewing C, Sayari M, van der Merwe NA, van Wyk S, Lane FA, Wilson AM, Adegeye OO, Soal NC, Price J-L, Steenkamp ET. (2024) Wide variation in aggressiveness and growth in South African Fusarium circinatum isolates with geographical origin as the primary determinant. Southern Forests: a Journal of Forest Science
10.2989/20702620.2024.2363749
Lin L, Fan XL, Groenewald JZ, Jami F, Wingfield MJ, Voglmayer H, Jaklitsch W, Castlebury LA, Tian CM, Crous PW. (2024) Cytospora: an important genus of canker pathogens. Studies in Mycology 109:323-401.
Cortina-Escribano M, Veteli P, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD, Coetzee MPA, Vanhanen H, Linnakoski R. (2024) Phylogenetic analysis and morphological characteristics of lactate Ganoderma specimens in Finland. Mycologia
10.1080/00275514.2024.2381424
Nkomo T, Bose T, Wingfield BD, Knoppersen R, Mbhele O, Nemesio‐Gorriz M, Rodas CA, Paetz C, Cilliers CT, Ferreira MA, Hammerbacher A. (2024) Geographic location shapes fungal communities associated with Epidendrum roots. Mycological Progress 23:54.
10.1007/s11557-024-01990-0
Ribeiro MF, Cavallini G, Solce GN, Favoreto AL, Passos JRDS, Hurley BP, Wilcken CF. (2024) Polyandry contributes to Gonipterus platensis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) rearing. PeerJ 12:e17929.
10.7717/peerj.17929
Basson RJ, Roets F, Wingfield MJ, Aylward J. (2024) Bark beetles and their associated fungi infesting native Widdringtonia species in the Western Cape province of South Africa. African Entomology 32(e18505)
10.17159/2254-8854/2024/a18505
Solís M, Naidoo S, Wingfield MJ, Joubert J, Hammerbacher A. (2024) First line of defence: Eucalyptus leaf waxes influence infection by an aggressive fungal leaf pathogen. Plant Biology
10.1111/plb.13707
Nsibo DL, Barnes I, Berger DK. (2024) Recent advances in the population biology and management of maize foliar fungal pathogens Exserohilum turcicum, Cercospora zeina and Bipolaris maydis in Africa. Frontiers in Plant Science 15:1-23.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1404483