Professor Lucy Moleleki is an associate professor in the department of biochemistry, genetics and microbiology, and is a research leader at the Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), where she leads The Bacterial Genomics and Host Pathogen Interactions Research Group. The main group of phytopathogenic bacteria studied by her research group are soft rot bacteria causing black leg and soft rot of potato plants. Her research has a two-pronged approach. On the one end, the research endeavors to understand important virulence mechanisms of phytopathogenic bacteria, while on the other end, we aim to understand defense mechanisms elicited by bacteria in host plants. In both research areas, functional genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic approaches are used. From this work, the research group has established the importance of small non-coding RNA in the virulence of soft bacteria, as well as the potential role of long non-coding RNAs in potato plant defenses.

To date, Professor Moleleki’s research group has published more than 35 research papers in reputable journals that are widely cited by peers worldwide. Some examples include Frontiers in Microbiology, Frontiers in Plant Sciences, Molecular Plant Pathology, and Applied Environmental Microbiology. She has trained four post-doctoral fellows, 7 PhD students, and 12 MSc students, and her research group currently comprises 5 PhD and 6 MSc students.