Teaching
I am responsible for teaching the Weed Science component of Crop Protection (PLG 251), Crop Physiology (APS 461 and APS 761) and Weed Science (OKW413 and PPK 712).
Associate Professor
I am currently appointed as an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences.
and have led the Molecular Plant Physiology research group in FABI since 2010. I also lead the molecular research aspects related to herbicide resistance mechanisms in the South African Herbicide Resistance Initiative (SAHRI).
My research focus on plant stress physiology, and in particular, how plants adapt to stress. Sustainable crop production in dryer environments is becoming increasingly important under changing climate conditions. Over the last 10 years, my research group has studied the impact of drought on soybean and its ability to fix nitrogen under drought conditions. This has led to the identification of key genes that regulate development under stress that can be used to select more drought tolerant cultivars. More recently, my research has also included the study of herbicide resistance mechanisms in weeds and the development of effective management strategies to ensure effective and sustainable crop production.
I currently also serve as the president of the South African Society of Crop Production and on the management board of the South African Journal of Plant and Soil.
I am responsible for teaching the Weed Science component of Crop Protection (PLG 251), Crop Physiology (APS 461 and APS 761) and Weed Science (OKW413 and PPK 712).
In the Soybean Research Program we are focused on understanding and improving biological nitrogen fixation in root nodules under drought stress. Over the years we have used transcriptome analysis to develop a profile of gene expression during nodule development and senescence under both optimal as well as drought conditions. We have been particularly interested in how cysteine proteases and cysteine protease inhibitors (cystatins) regulate natural as well as stress-induced senescence. We have identified a specific member of this gene family that is unregulated during the initiation of drought-induced senescence and is evaluating its potential as a marker but also a target to delay senescence in root nodules.
We are also interested in the role that specific Rhizobium strains play in regulating nodule initiation, development and overall biological nitrogen fixation. We are currently testing different species and strains to see how they perform under water-limiting conditions compared to current commercial strains.
In the South African Herbicide Resistance Initiative we are working closely with Industry partners to identify cases of herbicide resistance in South African weed populations and to determine the physiological mechanisms resulting in resistance. This allows us to develop specific management strategies to effectively control these populations. We are also actively involved in farmer outreach to help farmers improve their control programs in cases of herbicide resistance.
Reinhardt CF, Vorster BJ, Kupper A, Peter F, Simelane A, Friss S, Magson J, Aradhya C. (2022) A nonnative Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri) population in the Republic of South Africa is resistant to herbicides with different sites of action. Weed Sience 10.1017/wsc.2022.9
Cullis C, Chimwamurombe P, Kunert K, Vorster J. (2022) Perspective on the present state and future usefulness of marama bean (Tylosema esculentum). Food and Energy Security 10.1002/fes3.422
Tremblay J, Goulet M-C, Vorster J, Goulet C, Michaud M. (2021) Harnessing the functional diversity of plant cystatins to design inhibitor variants highly active against herbivorous arthropod digestive proteases. The FEBS Journal 10.1111/febs.16288
Sukhorukov AP, Kushunina M, Reinhardt CF, Bezuidenhout H, Vorster BJ. (2021) First records of Amaranthus palmeri, a new emerging weed in southern Africa with further notes on other poorly known alien amaranths in the continent. BioInvasion Records 10.3391/bir.2021.10.1.01
Singh AA, Pooe O, Kwezi L, Lotter-Stark T, Stoychev SH, Alexandra K, Gerber I, Bhiman JN, Vorster J, Pauly M, Zeitlin L, Whaley K, Mach L, Steinkellner H, Morris L, Tsekoa TL, Chikwamba R. (2020) Plant-based production of highly potent anti-HIV antibodies with engineered posttranslational modifications. Scientific Reports 10.1038/s41598-020-63052-1
Kunert KJ, Botha A-M, Oberholster PJ, Yocgo R, Chimwamurombe P, Vorster J, Foyer CH. (2020) Factors facilitating sustainable scientific partnerships between developed and developing countries. Outlook on Agriculture 10.1177/0030727020939592
Kunert K, Vorster BJ . (2020) In search for drought-tolerant soybean: is the slow-wilting phenotype more than just a curiosity?. Journal of Experimental Botany 10.1093/jxb/erz235
Juan Vorster, Chris Cullis, Karl Kunert. (2019) Plant Vacuolar Processing Enzymes. Frontiers in Plant Science 10.3389/fpls.2019.00479
NM Okumu, BJ Vorster, CF Reinhardt. (2019) Growth-stage and temperature influence glyphosate resistance in Conyza bonariensis (L.) Cronquist.. South African Journal of Botany 10.1016/j.sajb.2018.10.034
Mbedzi PP, Van den Hooven L, Vorster BJ , Van der Waals J. (2019) Screening for Sclerotinia sclerotiorum resistance using detached leaf assays and simple sequence repeat markers in soybean cultivars. Crop Protection 10.1016/j.cropro.2019.104909