Curator: CMW Culture Collection
Background:
As a curious individual, I have always been drawn to science, particularly microorganisms. In 2018 I was awarded the opportunity to partake in the Centre for Plant Health and Biotechnology (CPHB) mentorship program offered by FABI at the University of Pretoria. This experience allowed me to develop my confidence, and nurture my passion for fungi. In 2023, I joined the CPHB mentorship program once again, this time as a mentor, and have been part of the committee organising the mentorship ever since.
Additionally I was appointed as the Curator of the CMW and CMW-IA Culture Collections in FABI in November 2024. These Collections house over 66 000 and 7 000 economically important pathogens of the forestry and agricultural industry.
Research:
I completed my undergraduate degree in BSc Microbiology in 2018. With a passion for research I pursued and completed my BScHons Microbiology in 2019 which focused on delineation of Paraburkholderiaspecies using an evolutionary and comparative genomic approach. In 2020 I joined the Applied Mycology group and started my MSc on the fungal diversity associated with Stipagrostisciliata of the fairy rings in the Namib desert. Part of this work was presented in the form of a graphical abstract at the Mycological Society of America (MSA) Meeting 2020. Furthermore, this work was presented at the South African Society of Plant Pathology (SASPP) meeting in 2022, for which I was selected as a top twelve contender for best poster presentation. I was awarded my MSc Microbiology with distinction 2022. I am currently completing a PhD focusing on the diversity of Penicilliumin soils across the Western Cape of South Africa, as a component of the larger South African Soil SurveY (SASSY) project.
Visagie CM, Houbraken J, Overy DP, Sklenář F, Bensch K, Frisvad JC, Mack J, Perrone G, Samson RA, van Vuuren NI, Yilmaz N, Hubka V. (2025) From chaos to tranquillity: a modern approach to the identification, nomenclature and phylogeny of Aspergillus, Penicillium and other Eurotiales, including an updated accepted species list. Studies in Mycology 10.3114/sim.2025.112.04
Overy DP, Frisvad JC, Witte TE, Hicks CL, Hermans A, Sproule A, Louis-Seize G, Seifert KA, Yilmaz N, Price J, van Vuuren NI, Visagie CM. (2025) Chemodiversity of Penicillium isolated from alpine and arctic environments, including ten new species. Studies in Mycology 10.3114/sim.2025.112.03
Crous, P W, Catcheside, D E A, Catcheside, P S, Alfenas, A C, Alfenas, R F, Barreto, R W, Lebel, T, Balashov, S, Broadbridge, J, Jurjević, Ž, De la Peña-Lastra, S, Hoffmann, R, Mateos, A, Riebesehl, J, Shivas, R G, Soliz Santander, F F, Tan, Y P, Altés, A, Bandini, D, Carriconde, F, Cazabonne, J, Czachura, P, Gryta, H, Eyssartier, G, Larsson, E, Pereira, O L, Rigueiro-Rodríguez, A, Wingfield, M J, Ahmad, W, Bibi, S, Denman, S, Esteve-Raventós, F, Hussain, S, Illescas, T, Luangsa-ard, J J, Möller, L, Mombert, A, Noisripoom, W, Olariaga, I, Pancorbo, F, Paz, A, Piątek, M, Polman-Short, C, Suárez, E, Afshan, N S, Ali, H, Arzanlou, M, Ayer, F, Barratt, J, Bellanger, J-M, Bidaud, A, Bishop-Hurley, S L, Bohm, M, Bose, T, Campo, E, Chau, N B, Çolak, Ö F, Cordeiro, T R L, Cruz, M O, Custódio, F A, Couceiro, A, Darmostuk, V, Dearnaley, J D W, de Azevedo Santiago, A L C M, de Freitas, L W S, Yáñez-Morales, M de J, Domnauer, C, Dentinger, B, Dhileepan, K, De Souza, J T, Dovana, F, Eberhardt, U, Eisvand, P, Erhard, A, Fachada, V, García-Martín, A, Groenewald, M, Hammerbacher, A, Harms, K, Haroon, S, Haqnawaz, M, Henriques, S, Hernández, A J, Jacobus, L M, Jaen-Contreras, D, Jangsantear, P, Kaygusuz, O, Knoppersen, R, Kumar, T K A, Lynch, M J, Mahiques, R, Maraia, G L, Marbach, P A S, Mehrabi-Koushki, M, Miller, P R, Mongkolsamrit, S, Moreau, P-A, Oberlies, N H, Oliveira, J A, Orlovich, D, Pérez-Méndez, A S, Pinto, A, Raja, H A, Ramírez, G H, Raphael, B, Rodrigues, A, Rodrigues, H, Ramos, D O, Safi, A, Sarwar, S, Saar, I, Sánchez, R M, Santana, J S, Scrace, J, Sales, L S, Silva, L N P, Stryjak-Bogacka, M, Tacconi, A, Thanh, V N, Thomas, A, Thuy, N T, Toome, M, Valdez-Carrazco, J M, van Vuuren, N I, Vasey, J, Vauras, J, Vila-Viçosa, C, Villarreal, M, Visagie, C M, Vizzini, A, Whiteside, E J, Groenewald, J Z. (2025) Fungal Planet description sheets: 1781–1866. Persoonia 10.3114/persoonia.2025.54.10
van Vuuren N, Yilmaz N, Wingfield MJ, Visagie CM. (2024) Five novel Curvularia species (Pleosporaceae, Pleosporales) isolated from fairy circles in the Namib desert. Mycological Progress 10.1007/s11557-024-01977-x
Visagie CM, Yilmaz N, Allison JD, Barreto RW, Boekhout T, Boers J, Delgado MA, Dewing C, Fitza KNE, Furtado ECA, Gaya E, Hill R, Hobden A, Hu DM, Hülsewig T, Khonsanit A, Luangsa-Ard JJ, Mthembu A, Pereira CM, Price J-L, Pringle A, Qikani N, Sandoval-Denis M, Shumacher RK, Seifert KA, Slippers B, Tennakoon DS, Thanakitpipattana D, vanVuuren N, Groenewald JZ, Crous PW. (2024) New and Interesting Fungi. 7.. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.12
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 10.1186/s43008-024-00142-z