FABIans Dr Neriman Yilmaz and Prof. Cobus Visagie recently visited Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague, Czech Republic. The visit forms part of the Mycobiomics project supported by a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Research and Innovation Staff Exchanges (MSCA-RISE) grant.

During their stay, they worked closely with their collaborators on a manuscript that will update the taxonomy and nomenclature of the fungal order Eurotiales that include some of the world's most important fungi, like Aspergillus, Penicillium and Talaromyces. The paper is led by Prof. Visagie and will make working with these genera easier than ever. They also presented their work at a departmental seminar held on 17 December. The visit took place during the Christmas season, blending South African elements into Czech traditional celebrations.

Prof. Visagie has since returned to South Africa, while Dr. Yilmaz has proceeded to BOKU University in Austria for a sabbatical focused on Fusarium species and their secondary metabolite profiling. FABI is now preparing to host the final meeting of the four-year collaboration project in June 2025.