I completed my undergraduate and honours degrees in Cell and Environmental Biology at the University of KwaZulu Natal, followed by an MSc degree in Plant Biotechnology at the University of Stellenbosch. My PhD degree was conducted at the University of Pretoria under the supervision of Prof. Dave Berger and Dr. Katherine Denby (University of Warwick, UK). I am a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Genetics and am involved in teaching GTS352 (Genomes) and BTC361 (Plant Genetics & Crop Biotechnology). I am the programme leader of the Eucalyptus and Pine Pathogen Interactions (EPPI) group at FABI.

The EPPI programme was initiated in 2007 with the aim of investigating the genomics and molecular biology of defence responses of forest trees to various pathogens. Arabidopsis thaliana is used to model plant-pathogen interactions in Eucalyptus or Pinus in order to understand and identify resistance mechanisms that can be manipulated in trees in future. We undertake a genomics approach to perform gene discovery in Arabidopsis, Eucalyptus and Pinus.

Forest tree species such as Eucalyptus and Pine are subjected to attack by various pests and pathogens during their life-time.  Examples are the insect pest, Leptocybe invasa, the stem canker pathogen, Chrysoporthe austroafricana, the root rot pathogen, Phytophthora cinnamomi, and the pitch canker pathogen  Fusarium circinatum. This is exacerbated by climate change, which is predicted to make environments more favourable for pathogens and pests in future. The phenomenon of “host-shifts” from native hosts to forest plantations is increasingly reported. Currently, these threats are managed by planting tolerant genotypes or, in the case of L. invasa, the use of biological control as part of an integrated management system to curb losses. Despite these measures, such threats are considered severe for a clonally propagated tree species. This calls for the understanding of the plant defence mechanisms that exist in Eucalyptus trees which may be harnessed to improve its resistance capacity in future. Thus, EPPI is dedicated to uncovering the defence arsenal in Eucalyptus and Pine based on the study of the host “defensome” (or defence transcriptome).

We study the interaction between Eucalyptus with L. invasa, Eucalyptus with P. cinnamomi, Eucalyptus with C. austroafricana and Pinus patula with Fusarium circinatum. These pathosystems provide the biological platform to address key questions such are: (1) “What is the molecular basis of tolerance and susceptibility?”, (2) “What are the signature defence responses to different types of pests and pathogens?”, (3) “What are the convergent defence responses in the host?” and (4) “Which regulatory sequences and defence genes could be targeted for enhancing defence in Eucalyptus?”. This would provide a basis to implement biotechnology strategies to develop resistant families (seedling forestry) or clones (clonal forestry) in future.