Plant Health and Protection National Collections of ...nscf.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/1_The-Biosystematics-Collec… · Biosystematics Programme: • Food security, ecosystem

Plant Health and Protection

National Collections of

Arachnids, Fungi, Insects and

Nematodes

[email protected]

http://www.arc.agric.za/home.asp?pid=898

Copyright: Agricultural Research Council

mailto:[email protected]

The ARC

• The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) is a statutory body and

a schedule 3A public entity Agricultural Research Act 86 of 1990,

Amendment Act 27 of 2001; other relevant South African

Legislation.

• DAFF

• 11 Institutes country wide

• Various collections at crops- and animal sciences (OVI, seedbank

of forage plants) & Research and Biotechnology Innovations.

• ARC-PHP: custodians of National Reference Collections,

microbial collections and biobanks


Biosystematics Programme:

• Food security, ecosystem services and protection of natural resources

• Pest and disease outbreaks - international trade in agricultural

products

• Emerging diseases - climate change and evolutionary processes

• Support government to maintain commitments on National Acts and

International Conventions

• Specimen collections

• Technology transfer: diagnostic and advisory services, courses, guide

books, catalogues, pamphlets and courses

• Dissemination of scientific data

• Scientific output: Contributed to soil diversity review (termites; fungi;

nematodes; spiders and mites). Currently contributions to follow up

review in progress


Arachnology


Arachnology

• Mites:

– Plant feeding mites

– Predatory mites

– Parasitic mites

– ca 4400 microscope slides containing more than 513630 specimens

• Spiders:

– Various groups of spiders

– Scorpions

– Pseudoscorpions

– Spider collection: >80,900 alcohol samples containing >242,700 specimens


Entomology


Entomology

– Specimen holdings - beetles, scale insects, thrips, bees & wasps, termites, aphids and leaf hoppers

• 2 080 453 pinned specimens

• 35 171 vials of alcohol preserved specimens;

• 100 769 slide mounted specimens

– Collections contain several thousand species in hundreds of families


Mycology


Mycology • Collections

• Dried herbarium collection PREM

• Live culture collection PPRI

• Dried herbarium collection (PREM): 61423 specimens, including 2943 type specimens. The holdings represent more than 12841 fungal species

• Live culture collection (PPRI): 23 234 cultures, including important plant pathogenic fungi.

• DNA Biobank

• Identification service that contribute strains to the collection


Nematology

Nematology

• Plant parasitic nematodes

• Slide-mounted Collection

• Wet Collection of Insect Parasitic Nematodes

• More than 210000


Research: Mites

• Survey and description of eriophyoid mite diversity on

indigenous South African plants including (iLala palm,

Searsia, Widdringtonia, Fauria and Apodytes spp). So

far about 9 new species belonging to about 7 new

genera found

• Eriophyoid mites on mango, vine, potato, sweet potato

and blueberries.

• Catalogue of the Eriophyoidea (Acari) of South Africa.

• Survey and study of eriophyoid mites on tea in South

Africa

• Taxonomy and re-description of mites species used for

biological control of Australian weeds.


Research: Insects

• Taxonomic revision of African bees genera (2 outstanding).

• Vectors of viruses on banana

• Genetic diversity of the Fall Armyworm in South Africa

• Leaf hoppers of grasslands-1 new genus; 15 new spp.

• New pest reports such as indigenous longhorn beetle

• Catalogues of bee / beetle taxa in South Africa

• Global review of the invader Harlequin beetle (one of the most influential papers in the category Environmental Biology) Copyright: Agricultural Research Council

Research: Fungi

• Barcoding of Penicillium and Aspergillus barcoding (5

new species)

• Macadamia and Avocado phytopathogens

• Fusarium biome survey – grasslands and Karoo BioGap;

Australian collaborator

• Fungal soil diversity various Universities, ARC and

Chinese collaborator

• Diversity of macro-fungi in the Limpopo region

• Developing of rapid detection techniques for Alternaria

• Pathogenicity testing of newly described native Fusarium

spp.

• Genome mining of novel South African Fusarium sp.

• Characterization of a fungal biocontrol agent


Research collaboration

• SANBI

• Universities: UL, UJ, UP, US, UFS, Venda, KZN, UNW,

UNISA

• Various national and internationally based collections:

Western Australia Museum, Guelph University, Canada,

Lincoln University, University of Bari, Italy, University of

St. Petersburg, Russia, USDA, Kunming Institute of

Botany, Westerdijk Fungal Diversity Institute, Sydney

Botanic Garden and Domain Trust, Food and

Environment Research Agency, UK

• E Oppenheimer and Son

• SAIAB


Challenges • Rapid loss of skills due to retirements

• Recruitment of specialists: head-hunting failed

• Decreased government funding

• Slow uptake of molecular technologies (in some disciplines)

• Implementation of changing government policies

• Limited buy-in from the local scientific community

• Maintenance of existing infrastructure


Staff


Unit PhD MSc Graduates Technicians Students

Fungi 5 1 1 2

8 (2xPhD, 2xMSc, 2x M.Tech, 1 B Hons, 1x N.Dip, 2x NRF Interns

Insects 2 5 0 4 1x PhD

Mites 2 0 1 0 1xMSc

Nematology 2 0 1 1 1xPhD

Spiders 0 1 0 3

3 (1xMSc, 1x BSc Hons & 1x N.Dip

11 7 3 9 14

Documents

Plant Health and Protection National Collections of ...nscf.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/1_The-Biosystematics-Collec… · Biosystematics Programme: • Food security, ecosystem