Pedro Willem Crous (born 2 November 1963) is a South African

mycologist Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, and ...

and

plant pathologist Plant pathology or phytopathology is the scientific study of plant diseases caused by pathogens (infectious organisms) and environmental conditions (physiological factors). Plant pathology involves the study of pathogen identification, disease ...

Study

In 1985 he obtained a

B.Sc. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

. In 1988 he obtained his M.Sc.Agric.

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

at the same university. In 1992 he was awarded a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. in

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

at the University of the Orange Free State (now called the

University of the Free State The University of the Free State (; Sotho language, Sesotho: ''Yunivesithi ya Freistata'') is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It wa ...

) in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

. In 2009 he was awarded a

D.Sc. A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

in fungal systematics at the

University of Pretoria The University of Pretoria (, ) is a multi-campus public university, public research university in Pretoria, the administrative and ''de facto'' capital of South Africa. The university was established in 1908 as the Pretoria campus of the Johan ...

(South Africa).

University of Stellenbosch

He was appointed as lecturer at the department of Plant Pathology at

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

in 1991, and became a professor in 1995. From 1999 he was the head of the department of Plant Pathology until 2002.

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

In 2002 he accepted the directorship of the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, or in short

Westerdijk Institute The ''Westerdijk Institute'', or Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The institute was renamed on 10 February 2017, after Johanna Westerdijk, the first female professor in the ...

(then called

Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures The ''Westerdijk Institute'', or Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, is part of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. The institute was renamed on 10 February 2017, after Johanna Westerdijk, the first female professor in the ...

), an Institute of the

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

(KNAW) in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Awards

Crous has received several awards during his career, namely the President's award from the SA Foundation of Research Development (1994), Alexopolous Award from the

Mycological Society of America Mycology is the branch of biology concerned with the study of fungi, including their taxonomy, genetics, biochemical properties, and use by humans. Fungi can be a source of tinder, food, traditional medicine, as well as entheogens, poison, ...

(1999), Havenga Award for Biological Sciences from the SA Academy for Arts and Science (2001),

Christiaan Hendrik Persoon Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (31 December 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a Cape Colony mycologist who is recognized as one of the founders of mycology, mycological Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. Early life Persoon was born in Cape Colony at ...

Gold Medal from the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (2005), Founders' Award from the European Mycological Association (2011), Honorary membership of the

(2012), Elected Fellow of the Southern African Society for Plant Pathology (2013), and Honorary Membership of the Mycological Society of India (2015). He presently has an A1-rating from the National Research Foundation in South Africa, where he supervises students at the

Memberships of scientific organisations, editorships, cooperations and professorships

Crous is member of several scientific organisations, including the

(MSA), The Royal Netherlands Society of Plant Pathology (KNPV), American Phytopathological Society (APS), Australasian Plant Pathology Society, Netherlands Microbiological Society (KNVM), Southern African Society for Plant Pathology,

Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript a ...

, World Federation for Culture Collections, and the

International Mycological Association The International Mycological Association (IMA) is a professional organization that promotes mycology, the study of fungi. It was founded in 1971 during the first International Mycological Congress, which was held in Exeter (UK). The IMA publis ...

. He was President of the International Mycological Association (2006-2010), and is currently the secretary-general. In 2010 he was elected Corresponding Member of the Royal Academy for Overseas Sciences (Belgium). Together with Jozef Geml he is editor-in-chief of the mycological journal ''Persoonia'', managing editor of ''Studies in Mycology'' and ''IMA Fungus'', editor-in-chief o
''Fungal Systematics and Evolution (FUSE)''
and associate editor of ''Australasian Plant Pathology'', ''Sydowia'', ''Fungal Planet'', ''CBS Biodiversity Series'', and ''CBS Laboratory Manual Series''. He is a collaborator on the 1000 genome project, and the Tree of Life web project. Crous is appointed as Professor at the

, the

and the

(South Africa), the

University of Utrecht Utrecht University (UU; , formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2023, it had an enrollment of 39,769 students, a ...

and the

University of Wageningen Wageningen University & Research (also known as WUR) is a public research university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally important center fo ...

(Netherlands). He also holds professorships in Melbourne and Murdoch (Australia), and in Chiang Mai (Thailand). In 2018 Crous was elected a member of the

MycoBank

In 2004 he launched

MycoBank MycoBank is an online database, documenting new mycological names and combinations, eventually combined with descriptions and illustrations. It is run by the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute in Utrecht. Each novelty, after being screene ...

, a freely available online database to capture all fungal novelties described by the research community, which has since become mandatory in the

International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN or ICNafp) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all tho ...

from 2013 onwards. Prof Crous has played an active role in teaching microbial biodiversity, and has added several thousand cultures to the CBS culture collection, and has described more than 3000 fungal taxa, the majority also supplemented with DNA barcodes. From the start, he has been a strong supporter to build the library of life for biodiversity on earth, and in this capacity, was the European representative in the International Barcode of Life project (Genome Canada), the chair of the European Consortium for the Barcode of Life, served on the Executive of the Consortium for the Barcode of Life, and participated in major projects such as the FES Plant Health, Tree of Life, and FP7- Quarantine Barcode of Life.

Publications

He has published more than 600 papers, authored or edited more than 30 books, and monographed several genera of major economic importance to global food and fibre security. Crous has supervised or co-supervised 26 master's theses and has been the promoter or co-promoter of 20 doctoral dissertations. Crous teaches courses in biosystematics and plant pathology. His research focuses on the systematics of plant pathogenic fungi causing disease of economically important crops, also relevant to quarantine and trade in food and fibre.

References

External links

Pedro Crous page on the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute website

Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute website

Studies in MycologyCBS Biodiversity SeriesCBS Laboratory Manual SeriesMycoBankPersooniaIMA FungusFungal PlanetBusinesscard University of WageningenBusinesscard University of UtrechtWetenschapsportal NARCIS - positie, onderzoek, (Open Access) publicaties
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crous, Pedro Willem 1963 births Living people Members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences South African mycologists Stellenbosch University alumni University of the Free State alumni University of Pretoria alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology Presidents of the International Mycological Association