Abdelali (Ali) Hannoufa, Ph.D.

Image Mathieu Rioux
Research Scientist, Adjunct Professor

Research Scientist and Adjunct Professor in Genomics and Biotechnology

Current research and/or projects

  1. Discovery Research towards crop Improvement 

  2. Abiotic stress response in plants 

  3. RNAi Trap Plants for Horticulture 

  4. Novel Biological for Mitigation of Abiotic Stresses in Forage Legumes and Reduced Methane Emissions by Ruminants

  5. Development of IPM tools using genomic and ecological approaches for the control of insect pests in greenhouses 

  6. 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

Key publications

  1. Scott, I.M., A. Hannoufa, S. Hughes, W. Laur, T. McDowell and J. Renaud. 2018. Using transgenic plants as greenhouse trap crops: prospects and lessons learned. Platform presentation at the Joint Meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada and British Columbia, Vancouver B.C., Nov. 11-14, 2018.

    2018 - View publication details

  2. Hannoufa A. Arshad N, Gao R, Feyissa B, Matthews C, Aung B, Amyot L (2018). A Step Forward: Research towards Improving Alfalfa Traits. 14th International Symposium on Biocatalysis and Agricultural Biotechnology. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 23, 2018

    2018 - View publication details

  3. Singer, S.D., Hannoufa, A., Acharya, S. (2018). Molecular improvement of alfalfa for enhanced productivity and adaptability in a changing environment, 41(9), 1955-1971. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pce.13090

    2018 - View publication details

  4. Wei, S., Li, X., Gruber, M.Y., Feyissa, B.A., Amyot, L., Hannoufa, A. (2018). COP9 signalosome subunit 5A affects phenylpropanoid metabolism, trichome formation and transcription of key genes of a regulatory tri-protein complex in Arabidopsis. BMC Plant Biology, [online] 18(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12870-018-1347-9

    2018 - View publication details

  5. Lei, Y., Hannoufa, A., Prates, L.L., Shi, H., Wang, Y., Biligetu, B., Christensen, D., Yu, P. (2018). Effects of TT8 and HB12 Silencing on the Relations between the Molecular Structures of Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) Plants and Their Nutritional Profiles and in Vitro Gas Production, 66(22), 5602-5611. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.8b01573

    2018 - View publication details

  6. Puri A, Hannoufa A, Marsolais F (2018) Quantitative proteome analysis of alfalfa in drought stress under the influence of miR156 (Medicago sativa). North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference. Logan, Utah, June 4-6

    2018 - View publication details

  7. Hannoufa A., Feyissa B, Arshad M, Gao R, Matthews C, Aung B, Amyot L (2018) Connecting the dots: How microRNA156 regulates multiple traits in alfalfa, The 2018 Meeting of the Canadaian Association for Plant Biotechnology, Saskatoon, SK, May 14-18, 2018

    2018 - View publication details

  8. Lei Y, Hannoufa A, Biligetu B, Yu P. (2018) Over-expression of microRNA156 improves the nutritive value of alfalfa. 11th Canadian Plant Biotechnology Conference, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, May 15-17, 2018, pp 31

    2018 - View publication details

  9. Hossain, Z., Pillai, B.V.S., Gruber, M.Y., Yu, M., Amyot, L., Hannoufa, A. (2018). Transcriptome profiling of Brassica napus stem sections in relation to differences in lignin content. BMC Genomics, [online] 19(1), http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4645-6

    2018 - View publication details

  10. Gao, R., Feyissa, B.A., Croft, M., Hannoufa, A. (2018). Gene editing by CRISPR/Cas9 in the obligatory outcrossing Medicago sativa. Planta, [online] 247(4), 1043-1050. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00425-018-2866-1

    2018 - View publication details

  11. Lei, Y., Hannoufa, A., Christensen, D., Shi, H., Prates, L.L., Yu, P. (2018). Molecular structural changes in alfalfa detected by ATR-FTIR spectroscopy in response to silencing of TT8 and HB12 genes, 19(4), http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms19041046

    2018 - View publication details

  12. Gao, R., Wang, Y., Gruber, M.Y., Hannoufa, A. (2018). MiR156/SPL10 modulates lateral root development, branching and leaf morphology in arabidopsis by silencing AGAMOUS-LIKE 79. Frontiers in Plant Science, [online] 8 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.02226

    2018 - View publication details

  13. Chen, C., Li, C., Wang, Y., Renaud, J., Tian, G., Kambhampati, S., Saatian, B., Nguyen, V., Hannoufa, A., Marsolais, F., Yuan, Z.C., Yu, K., Austin, R.S., Liu, J., Kohalmi, S.E., Wu, K., Huang, S., Cui, Y. (2017). Cytosolic acetyl-CoA promotes histone acetylation predominantly at H3K27 in Arabidopsis. Nature Plants, [online] 3(10), 814-824. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41477-017-0023-7

    2017 - View publication details

  14. Aung, B., Gao, R., Gruber, M.Y., Yuan, Z.C., Sumarah, M., Hannoufa, A. (2017). MsmiR156 affects global gene expression and promotes root regenerative capacity and nitrogen fixation activity in alfalfa. Transgenic Research, [online] 26(4), 541-557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11248-017-0024-3

    2017 - View publication details

  15. Hughes, S., Scott, I., Croft, M., McDowell, T., Bernards, M., & Hannoufa, A. (2017). “Plant volatiles in insect pest control: a promising new tool for IPM.” Plants From Sea to Sky: Joint Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists and the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science. Vancouver, BC, Canada, July 4-7 2017, Poster.

    2017 - View publication details

  16. Matthews CDR, Amyot L, Smith DR, Hannoufa A. Investigating the role of the miR156-SPL network in heat stress response in Medicago sativa. Poster session presented at: Plants From Sea to Sky. A joint meeting of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists and the Canadian Society for Horticultural Science; 2017 Jun 4-7; Vancouver, British Columbia

    2017 - View publication details

  17. Scott I, Hughes S, Laur W, Caceres L, Challa S, Hannoufa A. (2017) Modifying the expression of plant volatiles to affect the behaviour of greenhouse insect pests. International Organisation for Biological Control Canada 2017 Meeting, June 4-8, 2017, Niagara Falls, ON

    2017 - View publication details

  18. Hughes S, Scott I, Bernards B, Hannoufa A. (2017) Developing a sustainable insect pest management system by manipulating plant volatile emissions. International Organisation for Biological Control Canada 2017 Meeting, June 4-8, 2017, Niagara Falls, ON

    2017 - View publication details

  19. Arshad, M., Feyissa, B.A., Amyot, L., Aung, B., Hannoufa, A. (2017). MicroRNA156 improves drought stress tolerance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) by silencing SPL13. Plant Science, [online] 258 122-136. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2017.01.018

    2017 - View publication details

  20. Arshad, M., Gruber, M.Y., Wall, K., Hannoufa, A. (2017). An insight into microRNA156 role in salinity stress responses of alfalfa. Frontiers in Plant Science, [online] 8 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.00356

    2017 - View publication details

Research facility

1391 Sandford Street
London, ON N5V 4T3
Canada

Affiliations

Adjunct Professor – University of Western Ontario

Member – University of Saskatchewan, College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Vice President – Canadian Association for Plant Biotechnology

Member, Canadian Society of Plant Biologists

Language

English