Forest Molecular Genetics

The Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme focuses on the genetic control of growth and development in fast- growing plantation trees with a view to enhance biomass production and improve wood properties for timber, pulp, paper, and biomaterials production. Concomitant with this, we aim to understand molecular pest and disease resistance mechanisms in trees for yield protection and resilience. The programme is affiliated with the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), as well as the Genomics Research Institute (GRI) at UP. The FMG Leadership is also affiliated with the new Future Africa Institute at UP. We work in close collaboration with South African forestry companies through the FMG Consortium (FMGC) to develop capacity and resources for the application of tree biotechnology in operational tree improvement programmes.

FMG Magazine_August 2020

New Publications

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

Backer R, Naidoo S, van den Berg N. (2023) The expression of the NPR1-dependent defense response pathway genes in Persea americana (Mill.) following infection with Phytophthora cinnamomi. BMC Plant Biology 23(1):548. 10.1186/s12870-023-04541-z

Takawira LT, Mounet F, Mizrachi E, Myburg AA, Grima-Pettenati J, Rai A, Dupas A, Ladouce N, Christie N, San Clemente H, Thulloch J, Ployet R, Bachir H, Hussey SG. (2023) Functional investigation of five R2R3-MYB transcription factors associated with wood development in Eucalyptus using DAP-seq-ML. Plant Molecular Biology 113:33-57. 10.1007/s11103-023-01376-y

Anneri Lötter, Tuan A Duong, Julia Candotti, Eshschar Mizrachi, Jill L Wegrzyn, Alexander A Myburg. (2023) Haplogenome assembly reveals structural variation in Eucalyptus interspecific hybrids. GigaScience 12 10.1093/gigascience/giad064

Swanepoel S, Visser EA, Shuey SS, Naidoo S. (2023) The In Planta Gene Expression of Austropuccinia psidii in Resistant and Susceptible Eucalyptus grandis. Phytopathology 113(6):1066-1076. 10.1094/PHYTO-07-22-0257-R

Solís M, Hammerbacher A, Wingfield MJ, Naidoo S. (2023) A robust disease scoring method to screen Eucalyptus for resistance against the aggressive leaf blight pathogen, Teratosphaeria destructans. Plant Disease:1418 - 1424. 10.1094/PDIS-06-22-1347-RE

Teshome DT, Zharare GE, Ployet R, Naidoo S. (2023) Transcriptional reprogramming during recovery from drought stress in Eucalyptus grandis. Tree Physiology 10.1093/treephys/tpad022

Candotti J, Christie N, Ployet R, Mostert-O’Neill MM, Reynolds SM, Neves LG, Naidoo S, Mizrachi E, Duong TA, Myburg AA. (2023) Haplotype mining panel for genetic dissection and breeding in Eucalyptus. The Plant Journal 113:174-185. 10.1111/tpj.16026

Swanepoel S, Visser E, Shuey L, Naidoo S. (2023) The In Planta Gene Expression of Austropuccinia psidii in Resistant and Susceptible Eucalyptus grandis. PHYTOPATHOLOGY 10.1094/PHYTO-07-22-0257-R

Visser EA, Kampmann TP, Wegrzyn JL, Naidoo S. (2022) Multispecies comparison of host responses to Fusarium circinatum challenge in tropical pines show consistency in resistance mechanisms. Plant, Cell & Environment 46(5):1705-1725. 10.1111/pce.14522

Solís M, Wingfield MJ, Hammerbacher A, Naidoo S. (2022) Comparison of the infection biology of Teratosphaeria destructans and Teratosphaeria epicoccoides on Eucalyptus. Plant Disease 10.1094/PDIS-09-21-1877-RE

Messal M, Vivas M, Kemler M, Begerow D, Brachmann A, Witfeld F, Naidoo S, Slippers B. (2022) Fungal Communities of Eucalyptus grandis Leaves Are Influenced by the Insect Pest Leptocybe invasa. Frontiers in Microbiology 13(3:841621) 10.3389/fmicb.2022.841621

Ranketse M, Hefer CA, Pierneef R, Fourie G, Myburg AA. (2022) Genetic diversity and population structure analysis reveals the unique genetic composition of South African selected macadamia accessions. Tree Genetics and Genomes 18(15):12. 10.1007/s11295-022-01543-0

Karannagoda N, Spokevicius A, Hussey SG, Cassan-Wang H, Grima-Pettenati J, Bossinger B. (2022) Eucalyptus grandis AUX/INDOLE‑3‑ACETIC ACID 13 (EgrIAA13) is a novel transcriptional regulator of xylogenesis. Plant Molecular Biology 10.1007/s11103-022-01255-y

Hussey SG. 2022. Transcriptional regulation of secondary cell wall formation and lignification. In: Advances in Botanical Research. Academic Press, Cambridge, MA, pp .

Jackson C, Christie N, Reynolds SM, Marais GC, Tii-kuzu Y, Caballero M, Kampman T, Visser EA, Naidoo S, Kain D, Whetten RW, Isik F, Wegrzyn J, Hodge GR, Acosta JJ, Myburg AA. (2021) A genome- wide SNP genotyping resource for tropical pine tree species. Molecular Ecology Resources 10.1111/1755-0998.13484

Swanepoel S, Oates CN, Shuey SS, Pegg GS, Naidoo S. (2021) Transcriptome analysis of Eucalyptus grandis implicates brassinosteroid signaling in defense against myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii). Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 4(200):778611. 10.3389/ffgc.2021.778611

Teshome DT, Zharare GE, Naidoo S. (2020) The threat of the combined effect of biotic and abiotic stress factors in forestry under a changing climate. Frontiers in Plant Science 10.3389/fpls.2020.601009

Berger DK, Mokgobu T, De Ridder K, Christie N, Aveling TAS. (2020) Benefits of maize resistance breeding and chemical control against northern leaf blight in smallholder farms in South Africa. South African Journal of Science 12(11) 10.17159/sajs.2020/8286

Oates C, Denby K, Myburg A, Slippers B, Naidoo S. (2020) Insect egg‐induced physiological changes and transcriptional reprogramming leading to gall formation. Plant, Cell & Environment 10.1111/pce.13930

Mostert-O'Neill MM, Reynolds SM, Acosta JJ, Lee DJ, Borevitz JO, Myburg AA. (2020) Genomic evidence of introgression and adaptation in a model subtropical tree species, Eucalyptus grandis. Molecular Ecology 00(00):1-14. 10.1111/mec.15615

Karannagoda N, Spokevicius A, Hussey S, Bossinger G. (2020) Microanalytical techniques for phenotyping secondary xylem. IAWA Journal 41(3):356-389. 10.1163/22941932-bja10034

Mphahlele MM, Isik F, Mostert-O'Neill MM, Reynolds SM, Hodge GR, Myburg AA. (2020) Expected benefits of genomic selection for growth and wood quality traits in Eucalyptus grandis. Tree Genetics & Genomes 16(49) 10.1007/s11295-020-01443-1

Mhoswa L, O'Neill M, Makobatjatji MM, Oates CN, Payn KG, Slippers B, Myburg AA, Naidoo S. (2020) A Genome-Wide Association Study for resistance to the insect pest Leptocybe invasa in Eucalyptus grandis reveals genomic regions and positional candidate defence genes. Plant & Cell Physiology (pcaa057) 10.1093/pcp/pcaa057

du Toit Y, Coles DW, Mewalal R, Christie N, Naidoo S. (2020) eCALIBRATOR: A Comparative Tool to Identify Key Genes and Pathways for Eucalyptus Defense Against Biotic Stressors. Frontiers in Microbiology 11:216. 10.3389/fmicb.2020.00216

Lyall R, Schlebusch SA, Proctor J, Prag M, Hussey SG, Ingle RA, Illing N. (2019) Vegetative desiccation tolerance in the resurrection plant Xerophyta humilis has not evolved through reactivation of the seed canonical LAFL regulatory network. The Plant Journal 10.1111/tpj.14596

Messal M, Slippers B, Naidoo S, Bezuidt O, Kemler M. (2019) Active fungal communities in asymptomatic Eucalyptus grandis stems differ between a susceptible and resistant clone. Microorganisms 7(10):375. 10.3390/microorganisms7100375

Tonfack LB, Hussey SG, Veale A, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E. (2019) Analysis of orthologous SECONDARY WALL-ASSOCIATED NAC DOMAIN1 (SND1) promotor activity in herbaceous and woody angiosperms. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 20:4623. 10.3390/ijms20184623

Visser EA, Wegrzyn JL, Steenkamp ET, Myburg AA, Naidoo S. (2019) Dual RNA-Seq Analysis of the Pine-Fusarium circinatum Interaction in Resistant (Pinus tecunumanii) and Susceptible (Pinus patula) Hosts. Microorganisms 7:315. 10.3390/microorganisms7090315

Solís M, Salas A, Lagos C, Valenzuela S, Emhart V, Fernández M. (2019) De Novo Transcriptome Assembly of Eucalyptus nitens and the Expression of R2R3-MYB Genes in Response to Cold Acclimation in Eucalyptus Spp.. Plant Molecular Biology Reporter 37(4):376–388. 10.1007/s11105-019-01160-7

Myburg AA, Hussey SG, Wang JP, Street NR, Mizrachi E. (2019) Systems and Synthetic Biology of Forest Trees: A Bioengineering Paradigm for Woody Biomass Feedstocks. Frontiers in Plant Biology 10:775. 10.3389/fpls.2019.00775

Roodt D, Li Z, Van de Peer Y, Mizrachi E. (2019) Loss of wood formation genes in monocot genomes. Genome Biology and Evolution 7(1):1986-1996. https://bit.ly/2WvIe8V

Naidoo S, Slippers B, Plett JM, Coles D, Oates CN. (2019) The road to resistance in forest trees. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:273. 10.3389/fpls.2019.00273

van der Nest MA, Wingfield MJ, McTaggart AR, Van Wyk S, De Vos L, Trollip C, Santana QC, Naidoo K, Dong TA, Wilken PM, Chan W-Y, Palmer M, Soal NA, Roodt D, Steenkamp ET, Wingfield BD. (2019) Genomic analysis of the aggressive tree pathogen Ceratocystis albifundus. Fungal Biology 10.1016/j.funbio.2019.02.002

Backer R, Naidoo S, van den Berg N. (2019) The NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES 1 (NPR1) and Related Family: Mechanistic Insights in Plant Disease Resistance. Frontiers in Plant Science 10:102. 10.3389/fpls.2019.00102

Pinard D, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E. (2019) The plastid and mitochondrial genomes of Eucalyptus grandis. BMC Genomics 20(132):1-14. 10.1186/s12864-019-5444-4

Pinard D, Fierro AC, Marchal K, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E. (2019) Organellar carbon metabolism is co-ordinated with distinct developmental phases of secondary xylem. New Phytologist 10.1111/nph.15739

Hussey SG, Grima-Pettenati J, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E, Brady SM, Yoshikuni Y, Deutsch S. (2019) A standardized synthetic Eucalyptus transcription factor and promoter panel for re-engineering secondary cell wall regulation in biomass and bioenergy crops. ACS Synthetic Biology 8(2):463-465. 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00440

Wierzbicki MP, Christie N, Pinard D, Mansfield SD, Mizrachi E, Myburg AA. (2019) A systems genetics analysis in Eucalyptus reveals coordination of metabolic pathways associated with xylan modification in wood‐forming tissues. New Phytologist 223(4):1952-1972. 10.1111/nph.15972

Myriam Solís. 2019. Sensibilidad de Botrytis cinera a Switch en viveros forestales . Editorial academica española.

Brown K, Takawira L, O'Neill M, Mizrachi E, Myburg A, Hussey S. (2019) Identification and functional evaluation of accessible chromatin associated with wood formation in Eucalyptus grandis. New Phytologist 223(4):1937-1951. 10.1111/nph.15897

Visser EA, Wegrzyn JL, Myburg AA, Naidoo S. (2018) Defence transcriptome assembly and pathogenesis related gene family analysis in Pinus tecunumanii (low elevation). BMC Genomics 19:632. 10.1186/s12864-018-5015-0

Laubscher M, Brown K, Tonfack LB, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E, Hussey SG. (2018) Temporal analysis of Arabidopsis genes activated by Eucalyptus grandis NAC transcription factors associated with xylem fibre and vessel development. Scientific Reports 8:10983. 10.1038/s41598-018-29278-w

Naidoo S, Christie N, Acosta JJ, Mphahlele MM, Payn KG, Myburg AA, Külheim C. (2018) Terpenes associated with resistance against the gall wasp, Leptocybe invasa, in Eucalyptus grandis. Plant, Cell & Environment 41(8):1840-1851. 10.1111/pce.13323

Pinard D, Mizrachi E. (2018) Unsung and understudied: plastids involved in secondary growth. Current Opinion in Plant Biology 42:30-36. 10.1016/j.pbi.2018.01.011

McTaggart AR, Shuey LS, Granados GM, du Plessis E, Fraser S, Barnes I, Naidoo S, Wingfield MJ, Roux J. (2018) Evidence that Austropuccinia psidii may complete its sexual life cycle on Myrtaceae. Plant Pathology 67:729-734. 10.1111/ppa.12763

Lu Q, Shao F, Macmillan C, Wilson IW, van der Merwe K, Hussey SG, Myburg AA, Dong X, Qiu D. (2018) Genomewide analysis of the lateral organ boundaries domain (LBD) gene family in Eucalyptus grandis reveals members that differentially impact secondary growth. Plant Biotechnology Journal 10.1111/pbi.12754

Botha J, Mizrachi E, Myburg AA, Cowan DA. (2018) Carbohydrate active enzyme domains from extreme thermophiles: components of a modular toolbox for lignocellulose degradation. Extremophiles 10.1007/s00792-017-0974-7

Nardini L, Hunt RH, Dahan-Moss YL, Christie N, Christian RN, Coetzee M, Koekemoer LL. (2017) Malaria vectors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: the mechanisms that confer insecticide resistance in Anopheles gambiae and Anopheles funestus. Malaria Journal 16(1):448. 10.1186/s12936-017-2099-y

Mir BA, Myburg AA, Mizrachi E, Cowan DA. (2017) In planta expression of hyperthermophilic enzymes as a strategy for accelerated lignocellulosic digestion. Scientific Reports 7(1):11462. 10.1038/s41598-017-11026-1

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