© 2015 Sarah E. Rich

Masixolise Pelly Malebe

RISE Degree(s) 

MSc in Biochemistry & PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Pretoria

RISE Network(s) 
SABINA
Nationality 
South African
Employment 

SABINA PhD Student at the University of Pretoria

Molecular Product Manager

Research 

MSc: Development of molecular marker assisted selection for drought tolerance in tea Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze

PhD: Comparative assessment of next-generation sequencing markers and SSR markers for germplasm analysis and the identification of putative molecular markers in tea Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze

Ms. Malebe's research focuses on identifying and developing molecular markers for drought tolerance and yield in the tea plant. The potential outputs of this research are robust molecular markers that can be used in a selection process in order to improve the yield of tea produced by the global tea industry.

News & Blogs 

Tea Research Key to a Growing Industry

Special Accomplishments 
2015–16 Next Einstein Forum Ambassador for South Africa
Department of Science & Technology South Africa (DST): Women in Science Award, Doctoral Fellowship (2013)
Whitehead Scientific Travel Award (2013)
University of Pretoria: Institutional Research Themes in Genomics Research Grant (2013)
National Research Foundation Doctoral Innovation Award (2012–13)
2012 Member of the Golden Key International Honours Society
National Research Foundation Masters Innovation Award (2009–12)
Member of the University of Pretoria Department of Biochemistry’s Social Committee, 2009 and 2012
2008 Award of Merit for Outstanding Academic Achievement from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Pretoria

2008 National Research Foundation Honours Scarce Skills Award

Selected Publications 

Koech RK, Malebe PM, Nyarukowa C, Mose R, Kamunya SM, et al. 2019. Functional annotation of putative QTL associated with black tea quality and drought tolerance traits. Sci. Rep. 9(1):1465

Koech RK, Malebe PM, Nyarukowa C, Mose R, Kamunya SM, Apostolides Z. 2018. Identification of novel QTL for black tea quality traits and drought tolerance in tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Tree Genet. Genomes 14(1):9

Email Address(es) 
pelly.malebe@yahoo.com