Dr Firehiwot Eshetu
| Postdoctoral Fellow | |
Department |
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FABI |
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| Full CV | |
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Research Profiles
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I am currently a postdoctoral fellow in the TPCP and Kiwifruit Protection Program (KPP) under the research group of Prof Irene Barnes at the Forestry and Biotechnology Institute (FABI). My research mainly focuses on determining the diversity of fungi associated with Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB). My role in the KPP is to invitro screen different fungicides effective against the Kiwifruit sooty spot pathogen Pseudocercospora spp. This information will be valuable in the management of this pathogen that reduces the production of Kiwifruit in South Africa.
I completed my PhD from the Sirex research team under the main supervision of Prof Bernard Slippers and the co-supervision of Prof. Irene Barnes and Dr Helen Nahrung at the University of the Sunshine Coast Australia. This project investigated the population genetics of the pine tree pest, the invasive woodwasp Sirex noctilio, its symbiotic fungus Amylostereum areolatum, and their biological control agent the nematode Deladenus siricidicola in Australia and New Zealand. The reproduction behavior of genetically different Deladenus strains when feeding onto different A. areolatum strains have also been investigated for its implication in the nematode mass-rearing program and Sirex biocontrol. The main finding from this project is the discovery of unexpectedly high genetic diversity of the biocontrol nematode D. siricidicola in Australasia that included a novel lineage, lineage D, particularly dominant in Australia. These results have significant implications for improving the Sirex biocontrol program that uses the nematode D. siricidicola for the management of S. noctilio in Pinus plantations in Australasia and beyond.
My Galeries
News
FABI congratulates Dr Firehiwot Eshetu on the successful completion of her PhD degree.
Professor Caterina Villari visited FABI on 20 October after concluding a 10-day visit to the Western Cape to attend the fifth meeting of the Bark Beetle Mycobiome Network Project in South Africa.
Four FABians attended the recent IUFRO "Novel and classical strategies to manage forest health in plantations" meeting in Brazil.
Recently a few members of the TPCP team, together with Colombian collaborator, Dr Carlos Rodas, engaged in a fungal isolation workshop.
FABI PhD candidate Katrin Fitza took part in the Society of Invertebrate Pathology (SIP) conference. This annual meeting gathers around 400 people from around the world. This year the conference was held on the Gold Coast in Australia from 12-17 August.
The FABI flag flew high at this year’s SAWiSA gala event held at The Ranch Resort in Polokwane on Thursday 23 August, with two representatives attending as finalists: Dr Irene Barnes, a research leader in the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Tree Health Biotechnology (CTHB), and Danielle Roodt, a PhD candidate in the Forest Molecular Genetics (FMG) Programme.
On the evening of the 26 July, the University of Pretoria hosted the Entomological Society of Southern Africa (ESSA) AGM. The meeting provided an opportunity to discuss society activities and organisational matters including increasing the visibility of the Society’s journal as well as the next ESSA conference (being held from 8-12 July 2019 in Durban).
The inaugural meeting of IUFRO Working Group 7. FABI presentations: Hurley B. Fraser S. Hurley B. (Photos supplied by the organisers of IUFRO Working Group 7.
This week, the FABI team is looking forward to welcoming some 300 Alumni, invited guests, industry partners, scientific collaborators, government representatives, staff and students from around the globe to celebrate its 20th anniversary on 24-25 January.
The staff and students of FABI wish to congratulate Prof. Bernard Slippers who has been appointed as the new Director of FABI with effect from 1 January 2018.
Read this feature article on the Research Matters webpage of the University of Pretoria.
My Journal Articles
| Publication |
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| Eshetu FB, Barnes I, Nahrung FH, Fitza KNE, Meurisse N, Slippers B. (2023) Unexpected diversity in historical biological control programs: Population genetics of the nematode Deladenus siricidicola in Australia and New Zealand. Biological Control 180:105183.
10.1016/j.biocontrol.2023.105183 |
| Naalden D, Haegeman A, de Almeida‐Engler J, Eshetu FB, Bauters L, Gheysen G. (2018) The Meloidogyne graminicola effector Mg16820 is secreted in the apoplast and cytoplasm to suppress plant host defense responses. Molecular Plant Pathology 19(11):2416-2430.
10.1111/mpp.12719 |