Dr Janneke Aylward
Research Profiles
I started out at FABI as a mentorship student in 2010, did my BSc(Hons) here in 2011, and then moved to Stellenbosch University. But being the fantastic place that it is, I had to come back! So after obtaining my PhD at Stellenbosch, I joined FABI as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the beginning of 2017. I still collaborate closely with my previous postgraduate advisors in Stellenbosch and continue to work in their laboratories.
I am excited about using genetic resources to survey populations and study adaptations, at both the population and individual levels. Whole-genome and transcriptome sequences are invaluable genetic resources that I use as “blueprints” in my research. These blueprints reveal aspects of the organism’s biology and ecology that can be further pursued by in vitro experiments. I find it particularly interesting to identify characteristics that enable organisms to invade and occupy specific niches. Especially when these can, subsequently, inform management protocols.
My postgraduate research considered the population genetics and genomics of ophiostomatoid fungi that occupy the flower heads of the iconic Cape Protea plants. Currently, my primary focus is on Teratosphaeria fungal pathogens of Eucalyptus trees in forestry plantations. The contrast between the closely related leaf and stem pathogens in the genus Teratosphaeria is specifically intriguing and is one of the focal points of my genomics-based research.
News
The Australasian Plant Pathology Society (APPS) celebrated its 50th anniversary at their 22nd Biennial conference in Melbourne from 25-28 November. They met up with a number of FABIans at the meeting.
FABI hosted a simulation modelling workshop led by two leaders in the field, Dr Serge Savary and Dr Laetitia Willocquet; both senior scientists at the AGIR Research unit of INRA’s Research Centre of Toulouse in France.
My Journal Articles
| Publication |
|---|
| Coelho MA, David-Palma M, Aylward J, Pham NQ, Visagie CM, Fuchs T, Yilmaz N, Roets F, Sun S, Taylor JT, Wingfield BD, Fisher MC, Wingfield MJ, Heitman J. (2025) Decoding Cryptococcus: From African biodiversity to worldwide prevalence. PLOS Pathogens 21:e1012876.
10.1371/journal.ppat.1012876 |
| Aylward J, Atkins S, Roets F, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ. (2025) Several Seiridium species (Sporocadaceae: Xylariales) cause cypress canker in South Africa. Fungal Biology 129:101528.
10.1016/j.funbio.2024.101528 |
| Aylward J, Marincowitz S, Basson RJ, Rippon W, Wingfield MJ, Roets F. (2024) Four new Geosmithia species from bark beetles infesting indigenous South African trees. Fungal Biology
10.1016/j.funbio.2024.09.006 |
| Basson RJ, Roets F, Wingfield MJ, Aylward J. (2024) Bark beetles and their associated fungi infesting native Widdringtonia species in the Western Cape province of South Africa. African Entomology 32(e18505)
10.17159/2254-8854/2024/a18505 |
| Aylward J, Wilson AM, Visagie CM, Spraker J, Barnes I, Buitendag C, Ceriani C, Del Mar Angel L, du Plessis D, Fuchs T, Gasser K, Krämer D, Li W, Munsamy K, Piso A, Price J-L, Sonnekus B, Thomas C, van der Nest A, van Dijk A, van Heerden A, van Vuuren N, Yilmaz N, Duong TA, van der Merwe NA, Wingfield MJ, Wingfield BD. (2024) IMA Genome – F19: A genome assembly and annotation guide to empower mycologists, including annotated draft genome sequences of Ceratocystis pirilliformis, Diaporthe australafricana, Fusarium ophioides, Paecilomyces lecythidis, and Sporothrix stenoceras. IMA Fungus 15(1):12.
10.1186/s43008-024-00142-z |
| Visagie CM, Magistà D, Ferrara M, Balocchi F, Duong TA, Eichmeier A, Gramaje D, Aylward J, Baker SE, Barnes I, Calhoun S, De Angelis M, Frisvad JC, Hakalova E, Hayes RD, Houbraken J, Grigoriev IV, LaButti K, Leal C, Lipzen C, Ng V, Pangilinan J, Pecenka J, Perrone G, Piso A, Savage E, Spetik E, Wingfield MJ, Zhang Y, Wingfield BD. (2023) IMA genome-F18 - The reidentification of Penicillium genomes available in the NCBI and draft genomes for Penicillium species from dry cured meat, Penicillium biforme, P. brevicompactum, P. solitum, and P. cvjetkovicii, Pewenomyces kutranfy, Pew. lalenivora, Pew. tapulicola, Pew. kalosus, Teratosphaeria carnegiei, and Trichoderma atroviridae SC1. IMA Fungus 14(21)
10.1186/s43008-023-00121-w |
| Aylward J, Ngubane NP, Dreyer LL, Oberlander K, Wingfield MJ, Roets F. (2023) Convergent evolution unites the population genetics of Protea-associated ophiostomatoid fungi. Fungal Ecology 63:101242.
10.1016/j.funeco.2023.101242 |
| Aylward J, Roets F, Dreyer LL, Wingfield MJ. (2023) Unseen fungal biodiversity and complex inter-organismal interactions in Protea flower heads. Fungal Biology Reviews 45:100317.
10.1016/j.fbr.2023.100317 |
 Wingfield MJ, Marincowitz S, Pham NQ, Roets F, Paap T, Wingfield BD, Aylward J. (2022) Cypress Canker: An important disease discovered for the first time on a native South African tree. Plant Pathology 71:1735-1742.
10.1111/ppa.13614 |
Crous PW, Aylward J, Marincowitz S, Wingfield BD, Wingfield MJ, et al.. (2022) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1383–1435. Persoonia 48:261.
10.3767/persoonia.2022.48.08  |