One of the academic world's largest international meetings addressing topics in microbial ecology, the 19th International Symposium on Microbial Ecology (ISME), will take place in Cape Town, South Africa in August. More than 1 500...

Two new species of psychoactive mushrooms in the genus Psilocybe have been described from southern Africa, bringing the list to six known species indigenous to Africa. This is even though Psilocybe species are amongst the most well-known...

First Deaf student to graduate with a BScHons in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at SU. Trevolin Pillay was born profoundly deaf and proudly identifies as a Deaf individual. With proper access, Deaf students can thrive in any field...

Special research projects in the Department of Microbiology

A newly described African species in the magic mushroom family confirms its evolutionary origin as from Africa. Psilocybe ochraceocentrata last shared a common ancestor with P. cubensis approximately 1.5 million years ago. Study sheds new...

There is increased evidence that extracellular DNA – genetic material released from bacteria killed during the treatment process – may act as a previously underappreciated reservoir of antibiotic resistance. Researchers from Stellenbosch...

Laboratory of the researcher, Professor Thulani P. Makhalanyane

Homepage of the Department of Microbiology

Prof Riaan den Haan of the Department of Microbiology delivered his inaugural lecture on 26 May 2026. His research focuses on developing yeast strains for sustainable biotechnology applications. His work aims to convert biomass and...

Overview of staff in the Department of Microbiology