Abdelali (Ali) Hannoufa, Ph.D.

Research Scientist, Adjunct Professor

Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor in Genomics and Biotechnology

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

1391 Sandford Street, London, Ontario

Current research and/or projects

Discovery Research towards crop Improvement
Abiotic stress response in plants
RNAi Trap Plants for Horticulture
Novel Biological for Mitigation of Abiotic Stresses in Forage Legumes and Reduced Methane Emissions by Ruminants
Development of IPM tools using genomic and ecological approaches for the control of insect pests in greenhouses
Improving productivity and persistence of alfalfa under extreme weather events

Education and awards

Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology, York University, 1996

M.Sc. in Plant Biochemistry, Concordia University, 1991

Additional links

www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1181940065860

Key publications

Subedi U, Burton Hughes K, Chen G, Hannoufa A, Singer SD (2022) Eliciting targeted mutations in Medicago sativa using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing: A potential tool for the improvement of disease resistance. In: Plant-Pathogen Interactions (Foroud N, Neilson J, eds). Springer, NY.
2022 - View publication details
Gamalat Allam, Yousef Papadopoulos, Mark A. Bernards, Abdelali Hannoufa (2022) miR156/SPL network negatively regulates aluminum stress tolerance in Medicago sativa by targeting SPL13. 2022 Meeting of the Canadian Association for Plant Biotechnology, May 22-25, Quebec City, Quebec (oral presentation)
2022 - View publication details
Vida Nasrollahi, Susanne E. Kohalmi, Abdelali Hannoufa (2022) SPL12 regulates nodulation under osmotic stress and nitrate sufficiency conditions by targeting AGL6 and AGL21 in Medicago sativa. 2022 Meeting of the Canadian Association for Plant Biotechnology, Quebec City, Quebec 2022/08/22 - 2022/08/25 (oral presentation).
2022 - View publication details
Feyissa, B.A., Amyot, L., Nasrollahi, V., Papadopoulos, Y., Kohalmi, S.E., Hannoufa, A. (2021). Involvement of the miR156/SPL module in flooding response in Medicago sativa, 11(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82450-7
2021 - View publication details
Nasrollahi V, Kohalmi SE, Hannoufa A (2021) Characterization of SPL12 role in regulating root architecture, nodulation and nitrogen fixation in Medicago sativa. The Eastern Regional Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists. Carleton University, Nov 27 (virtual)
2021 - View publication details
Dan-Dobre M, Karagiannis J, Hannoufa A (2021) Characterization of the role of SPL4 in the regulation of drought stress and trichome development in alfalfa. The Eastern Regional Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists. Careleton University, Nov 27 (virtual)
2021 - View publication details
Dan-Dobre M, Karagiannis J, Hannoufa A (2021) Characterization of the role of SPL4 in trichome development and drought response in Medicago sativa. 11th Biennial Biology Graduate Research Forum, University of Western Ontario, Nov 5, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Nasrollahi V, Kohalmi SE, Hannoufa A (2021) miR156-SPL12-AGL6 module regulates root architecture and nodulation in Medicago sativa (alfalfa). 11th Biennial Biology Graduate Research Forum, University of Western Ontario, Nov 5, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Nasrollahi V., Kohalmi S., Hannoufa A. (2021) miR156/SPL12 modulates nodulation, nitrogen fixation and root regeneration in Medicago sativa by Silencing AGAMOUS-LIKE 6”. European Nitrogen Fixation Conference, Aarhus University, Denmark , October 8, 2021 (Virtual)
2021 - View publication details
Allam G, Papadopoulos Y, Bernards BA, Hannoufa A (2021) miR156/SPL network negatively regulates aluminum stress tolerance in Medicago sativa. The 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists (virtual), Saskatoon, SK, June 7-10, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Dan-Dobre M, Karagiannis J, Hannoufa A (2021) Characterization of SPL4 role in drought stress and trichome development in alfalfa. The 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists (virtual), Saskatoon, SK, June 7-10, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Nasrollahi V, Kohalmi SE, Hannoufa A (2021) Characterization of SPL12 role in regulating root architecture, nodulation and nitrogen fixation in Medicago sativa (2021) The 2021 Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists (virtual), Saskatoon, SK, June 7-10, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Nasrollahi V., Kohalmi S., Hannoufa A. (2021) Role of miR156/SPL in rot architecture and nodulation in Medicago sativa (alfalfa). Webinar on Plant Science and Genomics 2021 (WPSG 2021), April 29-30, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Nambiar A, Hugh H., Hannoufa A (2021) A Genome-Wide Analysis and Molecular Characterization of SPL Transcription Factors in Alfalfa. Ontario Biology Day, McMaster University, March 20-21, 2021
2021 - View publication details
Lei, Y., Hannoufa, A., Yu, P. (2020). Overexpression of miR156 and Silencing SPL6RNAi and SPL13RNAi Genes in Medicago sativa on the Changes of Carbohydrate Physiochemical, Fermentation, and Nutritional Profiles. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, [online] 68(49), 14540-14548. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.0c02508
2020 - View publication details
Arshad, M., Puri, A., Simkovich, A.J., Renaud, J., Gruber, M.Y., Marsolais, F., Hannoufa, A. (2020). Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis of alfalfa in response to microRNA156 under high temperature, 21(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12864-020-07161-1
2020 - View publication details
Subedi U, Burton Hughes K, Dhariwal G, Kader K, Hannoufa A, Acharya S, Singer SD. Mutation of MsSPL8 alleles via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing leads to superior abiotic stress resiliency and distinct morphological alterations in alfalfa. 1st International Electronic Conference on Plant Science, Dec. 1 – 15, 2020
2020 - View publication details
Feyissa, B.A., Renaud, J., Nasrollahi, V., Kohalmi, S.E., Hannoufa, A. (2020). Transcriptome-IPMS analysis reveals a tissue-dependent miR156/SPL13 regulatory mechanism in alfalfa drought tolerance, 21(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12864-020-07118-4
2020 - View publication details
Hanly, A., Karagiannis, J., Lu, Q.S.M., Tian, L., Hannoufa, A. (2020). Characterization of the role of SPL9 in drought stress tolerance in medicago sativa, 21(17), 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms21176003
2020 - View publication details
Singer SD, Burton Hughes K, Dhariwal GK, Subedi U, Kader K, Hannoufa A, Acharya S. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated mutation of alfalfa SQUAMOSA PROMOTER-BINDING-LIKE8 alleles leads to distinct morphological alterations. Plant Biology Worldwide Summit 2020, virtual conference, July 27 – 31, 2020
2020 - View publication details