The organizers of the 2017 congress of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (SASPP) introduced a new way in which students can present their posters. As is typical for congresses, posters were displayed in a hall separate from the auditorium where oral presentations took place. However, this year the authors of posters were provided two sessions in the main hall where they were each given 2 minutes to introduce their poster without the assistance of powerpoint slides. 

The students were extremely creative in their stories and certainly the Fameclub presentations at FABI contributed to the confidence and ease with which FABI students took up this challenge. Summarizing their work in a user-friendly way certainly was a good advertisement for their posters and drew many more people to look at the posters than would have been the case otherwise.

FABI Posters at the Congress

P2: T.A. Duong, M.J. Wingfield, V. Le, Z.W. de Beer, B.D. Wingfield. Comparative genomics provides insights regarding pathogenicity in an aggressive conifer root-infecting fungus.

P3: J. Engelbrecht, T.A. Duong, N. van den Berg. Identification and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers to study Phytophthora cinnamomi populations.

P4: G.M. Granados, A.R. McTaggart, I. Barnes, C.A. Rodas, J. Roux, M.J. Wingfield. Puccinia psidii a worldwide threat to forestry plantations in Colombia.

P12: S.A. Prabhu, B. Ndlovu, J. Engelbrecht, N. Van Den Berg. Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated generation of composite avocado (Persea americana) plants for functional research.

P14: R. Roberts, G. Pietersen. Variability amongst ‘Candidatus Liberibacter africanus’ populations infecting citrus in South Africa.

P15: C.T. Tatham, P.M. Wilken, M.A. van der Nest, M.J. Wingfield, B.D. Wingfield. Deciphering the mating locus structure of the Eucalyptus leaf and shoot pathogen Teratosphaeria destructans.

P16: T. Bose, T.I. Burgess, J. Roux, M.J. Wingfield. Phytophthora umhlaba sp. nov.: A new species from native forests and plantations of non-native trees in South Africa.

P17: E.M. Cruywagen, J. Roux, Z.W. de Beer, M.J. Wingfield. Fungi from a fallen “champion”.

P18: M. Erasmus, Z.W. de Beer, T.A. Duong, M.J. Wingfield. Redefining generic boundaries in the Ophiostomatales.

P19: M. Harris, G. Pietersen. Detection of grapevine Leafroll associated virus 3, Viti- and Foveaviruses in Vitis rootstocks.

P22: W.J. Nel, T.A. Duong, M. Poulsen, D. Aanen, S. Vreebrug, .W. de Beer. Fungiculous species of Ophiostomatales, including three new species from Termitomyces fungus combs.

P24: V.M. Shutt, T.A. Coutinho, J.E. van der Waals, T. Goszczynska. Phylotype and sequevar identification of Ralstonia isolates infecting tomato in South Africa.

P26: A. van der Nest, M.J. Wingfield, I. Barnes. Diversity of Lecanosticta species in Central America suggests a centre of diversity for an important group of pine needle pathogens.

P30: M.T.S. Moshabesha, T.A.S. Aveling, Z. Pieterse, Q. Kritzinger. The potential of a yeast isolated from Carpobrotus acinaciformis as a biocontrol agent against Fusarium species on maize seed.

P42: K. De Ridder, D.K. Berger, T.A.S. Aveling. A survey of pre-harvest ear rot diseases of maize in selected small-holder maize plots in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape in SA.

P53: X. Silva, J. Roux, A. Yanosky, A. Gricyuk, M. Wingfield, F.O. Asiegbu. A new pathogen of Eucalyptus plantations for South America found in Paraguay.

P60: T.M. Miyambo, S.A. Prabhu, F. Joubert, N. van den Berg. In silico identification of polygalacturonases in Phytophthora cinnamomi and polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins in Persea americana.

P68: K.N. Bophela, S.N. Venter, M.J. Wingfield, T.A. Coutinho. Xanthomonas perforans causes leaf blight of Eucalyptus pellita in Indonesia.

P69: R.L. Chang, T.A. Duong, S.J. Taerum, M.J. Wingfield, X.D. Zhou, Z. W. de Beer. Does symbiont assemblage reflect the population structure of the spruce bark beetle Ips typographus?

P70: E. du Plessis, A.R. McTaggart, I. Barnes, J. Roux. Puccinia psidii: distribution, host range and population diversity in South Africa.

P71: G.M. Granados, A.R. McTaggart, C.A. Rodas, J. Roux, M.J. Wingfield. Cryphonectriaceae in Colombia: hidden killers on Melastomataceae.

P72: D.A Herron, E.T. Steenkamp, B.D Wingfield, M.J. Wingfield. Hiding in plain sight: the pitch canker fungus in Limpopo grasses.

P73: A. Maduke, J. Roux, M.J. Wingfield, D. Pavlic-Zupanc. Botryosphaeriaceae on Syzygium cordatum and Eucalyptus species in Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.

P74: S. Marincowitz, S. Taerum, T.A. Duong, Z.W. de Beer, M.J. Wingfield. New ophiostomatalean symbionts of Dendroctonus valens.

P75: V.M. Moloto, T. Goszczynska, L. du Toit, T.A. Coutinho. Analysis of bacterial communities associated with onion (Allium cepa) seeds through culture dependent and culture independent methods.

P77: E. Rikhotso, I. Greyling, S. Fraser, J. Roux. Leaf pathogens of sub-tropical species of Eucalyptus in South Africa.

P80: B.S. Swalarsk-Parry, L. De Vos, B.D. Wingfield, A. Hammerbacher, E.T. Steenkamp. Comparative growth study of Fusarium circinatum and Fusarium temperatum on host-derived media.