Professor Lucy Moleleki and her PhD student, Edward Onkendi, attended and presented their research findings at the American Phytopathological Society (APS) meeting which was held from 1-5 August in the city of Pasadena, California, USA. The meeting brought together plant pathologists from different parts of the world working on a wide range of topics. Prof. Moleleki presented a poster on ‘the discovery and profiling of small RNAs responsive to stress conditions in the plant pathogen Pectobacterium atrosepticum’ while Edward presented a poster on ‘genes regulating biofilm formation in Pectobacterium carotovorum subsp. Brasiliensis’.