Danielle Leukes
Project Title: The role of actinobacteria in plant growth promotion and health of Aspalathus linearis.
I completed my undergraduate and Honours degrees’ at the University of the Western Cape. My honours project was performed at IMBM with the focus of screening for bioactive filamentous actinobacteria associated with Aspalathus linearis (rooibos) an indigenous, herbal and commodity plant. I am currently pursuing my masters degree which aims to assess the role of actinobacteria in plant growth promotion and health of Aspalathus linearis. The ability of actinobacteria to enhance plant growth and health could possibly shed light on a suitable solution for the improvement of sustainable rooibos farming and ultimately increase the yield of commercially viable rooibos. I am passionate about science and more particularly the field of biotechnology as I do believe it has the potential to solve issues pertaining to nature and the impact of humanity of on the earth; more importantly I believe that through science we can alleviate socio-economic issues such as the lack of food and water availability.