The Fungal Genetics meeting is held in Asilomar, California every second year.  This venue is not only a fantastic place to attend a meeting, but it is also the site where the causal agent of the pitch canker disease, Fusarium circinatum was first identified in California, in 1993.  There is a poster about this disease in the conference grounds (see photo).  The disease is very much in evidence with the characteristic “flagging” of branches and distinctive pitch that is produced on the infected tree trunks.  This fungus has been the focus of much research in FABI, and the first fungal genome to be sequenced in Africa was that of F. circinatum.  This was done by researchers in FABI.

Eight Fabians attended the Fungal Genetics meeting in March 2019, Prof Brenda Wingfield, Prof Emma Steenkamp, Dr Lieschen de Vos, Dr Albe van der Merwe, Dr Janneke Aylward, Minette Havenga, Dr Magriet van der Nest and Dr Markus Wilken. Each participant presented posters at the meeting.