Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute

Last updated
Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute
AbbreviationFABI
Formation1997;27 years ago (1997)
Founder Mike Wingfield
TypeResearch Institute
Location
Director
Bernard Slippers
Affiliations University of Pretoria
Website www.fabinet.up.ac.za

The Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) (Pretoria) was established in 1997 and is located on the University of Pretoria campus. The initial goal of the institute was to help the development of novel food and fibre crops, that will clearly contribute to global economic development and food security. Over the last decades the goals have expanded to cover a wide range of research fields. [1] [2]

Contents

FABI was involved in 2011 in the completion of the eucalyptus tree genome ( Eucalyptus grandis ). [3]

Primary Objectives

Source: [1]

Promoting broad field research through a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach and with a close link to a wide range of departments.

Members are based in a number of academic departments, like Profs Brenda Wingfield, Sanushka Naidoo, Mike Wingfield, Bernard Slippers, Fanus Venter in Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, or Profs Catherine Sole, Almuth Hammerbacher, Brett Hurley, Abdullahi Yusuf, Christopher Weldon, Christian Pirk in Zoology and Entomology.

Undertaking research of the highest calibre, while at the same time providing short and long term benefits to the forestry and agricultural sectors of South Africa and beyond.

Establishing partnerships with industries not limited to forestry and agriculture, both nationally and internationally.

Research Groups, Satellite Labs and International Programmes

Related Research Articles

<i>Eucalyptus</i> Genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family

Eucalyptus is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of Eucalyptus are trees, often mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including Corymbia and Angophora, they are commonly known as eucalypts or "gum trees". Plants in the genus Eucalyptus have bark that is either smooth, fibrous, hard, or stringy, the leaves have oil glands, and the sepals and petals are fused to form a "cap" or operculum over the stamens. The fruit is a woody capsule commonly referred to as a "gumnut".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendel University in Brno</span> Agricultural university in Brno, Czech Republic

Mendel University in Brno is located in Brno, Czech Republic. It was founded on 24 July 1919 on the basis of the former Tábor Academy. It now consists of five faculties and one institute - the Faculty of AgriSciences, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Faculty of Business and Economics, Faculty of Horticulture, Faculty of Regional Development and International Studies and Institute of Lifelong Education. It is named since 1994 after Gregor Johann Mendel, the botanist and "father of genetics", who was active in this city during his lifetime.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant pathology</span> Scientific study of plant diseases

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endophyte</span> Endosymbiotic bacterium or fungus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biosolids</span> Decontaminated sewage sludge

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna</span> University of life sciences in Vienna, Austria

The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or simply BOKU, founded in 1872, is an education and research centre for renewable resources in Vienna, Austria. BOKU combines expertise in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and biotechnology as well as social and economic sciences. In research and teaching, it focuses on

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Research Foundation (South Africa)</span> Intermediary agency between the Government of South Africa and South Africas research institutions

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<i>Armillaria luteobubalina</i> Species of fungus in the family Physalacriaceae.

Armillaria luteobubalina, commonly known as the Australian honey fungus, is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in southern Australia, the fungus is responsible for a disease known as Armillaria root rot, a primary cause of Eucalyptus tree death and forest dieback. It is the most pathogenic and widespread of the six Armillaria species found in Australia. The fungus has also been collected in Argentina and Chile. Fruit bodies have cream- to tan-coloured caps that grow up to 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and stems that measure up to 20 cm (8 in) long by 1.5 cm (1 in) thick. The fruit bodies, which appear at the base of infected trees and other woody plants in autumn (March–April), are edible, but require cooking to remove the bitter taste. The fungus is dispersed through spores produced on gills on the underside of the caps, and also by growing vegetatively through the root systems of host trees. The ability of the fungus to spread vegetatively is facilitated by an aerating system that allows it to efficiently diffuse oxygen through rhizomorphs—rootlike structures made of dense masses of hyphae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sainsbury Laboratory</span> Plant research laboratory in Norwich, Norfolk, England

The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) is a research institute located at the Norwich Research Park in Norwich, Norfolk, England, that carries out fundamental biological research and technology development on aspects of plant disease, plant disease resistance and microbial symbiosis in plants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sokoine University of Agriculture</span> Public university in Morogoro, Tanzania

Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) is a public university in Morogoro, Tanzania, specializing in agriculture. The university is named after the country's second prime minister Edward Sokoine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karl Maramorosch</span>

Karl Maramorosch was an Austrian-born American virologist, entomologist, and plant pathologist. A centenarian and polyglot, he conducted research on viruses, mycoplasmas, rickettsiae, and other micro-organisms; and their transmission to plants through insect vectors in many parts of the world. He is the co-author of a textbook on techniques in virology and is the author of numerous papers on the biology and ecology of plant viruses, their hosts, and vectors. He received the Wolf Prize in Agriculture in 1980 for his contribution to the study of crop pathogens.

<i>Fusarium circinatum</i> Species of fungus

Fusarium circinatum is a fungal plant pathogen that causes the serious disease pitch canker on pine trees and Douglas firs. The most common hosts of the pathogen include slash pine, loblolly pine, Monterey pine, Mexican weeping pine, and Douglas fir. Like other Fusarium species in the phylum Ascomycota, it is the asexual reproductive state of the fungus and has a teleomorph, Gibberella circinata.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genetically modified tree</span> Tree whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering techniques

A genetically modified tree is a tree whose DNA has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. In most cases the aim is to introduce a novel trait to the plant which does not occur naturally within the species. Examples include resistance to certain pests, diseases, environmental conditions, and herbicide tolerance, or the alteration of lignin levels in order to reduce pulping costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bettine van Vuuren</span> South African zoologist

Bettine van Vuuren is the Registrar and a Member of the Executive at the University of Johannesburg. She is also a Professor of Zoology and Director of the Centre for Ecological Genomics and Wildlife Conservation at the University of Johannesburg.

Brenda D. Wingfield is a South African Professor of genetics and previous Deputy Dean of the University of Pretoria. She is known for her genetic studies of fungal tree pathogens.

Kornelia Smalla is a chemist and biotechnologist at the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI) in Braunschweig and a university lecturer in microbiology at the Technical University of Braunschweig.

Priscilla Baker is a professor of analytical chemistry at the University of the Western Cape. She is the co-leader of SensorLab, a research platform in electrochemistry that deals with the electrodynamics of materials and sensors. She is an active member of the Academy of Science of South Africa, European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles (ESNAM) and the Marie Curie International staff exchange scheme (IRSES).

Rachel Kerina Chikwamba is a Zimbabwean plant geneticist born in 1967. She is in the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Group Executive: Strategic Alliances and Communication. She is an active member of the Academy of Science of South Africa.

Professor Michael John Wingfield is a South African academic and scientist who studies plant pathology and biological control. He was the founding director of the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute, University of Pretoria. Wingfield has authored or co-authored over 1,000 scientific publications and is considered a leading expert in the field of forest health and invasive species. He has received numerous awards and honours throughout his career, including Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award and John Herschel Medal, the highest accolade from the Royal Society of South Africa. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of South Africa and the African Academy of Sciences. Wingfield has had several fungi named after him.

Catherine Lynne Sole is a South African entomologist. She leads the Invertebrate Biosystematics and Conservation Group (IBCG) in the department of zoology and entomology at the University of Pretoria.

References

  1. 1 2 "FABI". www.fabinet.up.ac.za. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  2. "FABI Biennial Reports". www.fabinet.up.ac.za. Retrieved 2024-05-03.
  3. Science News Line. "Eucalyptus tree genome deciphered".
  4. User, Super. "DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology". DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence In Plant Health Biotechnology. Retrieved 2024-05-03.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. "SIRG | University of Pretoria". www.up.ac.za. Retrieved 2024-05-03.