Muhammad Ali,Ph.D., Associate Professor
BIOGRAPHY
Academic and research professional with over seven years of experience specializing in plant biotechnology and molecular biology at well-reputed institutions/universities. I have been trained to effectively implement research strategies at national and international levels. I count my skills in wet-lab expertise and scientific writing as my main strengths for achieving my objectives. I aspire to become a distinguished researcher with a tangible contribution to academia and society.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Plant-pathogen interactions; Abiotic stresses (heat and drought); Plant molecular biology; Gene expression and resistance genes transformation; Identification and functional characterization of genes; Plant stress physiology; Single cell-RNA sequencing and Spatial transcriptomics
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2024.06–Present: Associate Professor at Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, China
2023.04–2024.05: Assistant Professor at Peking University-Institute of Advanced Agricultural Sciences, China
2023.03–2023.12: Visiting Scholar at Sun-Yet Sen University, Shenzhen, China
2022.05–2023.04: Postdoc at Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology-Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
2019.10–2022.04: Postdoc at Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
2012.09–2014.08: Lecturer at The University of Swabi, Pakistan
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
2015.09—2019.06: Ph.D. Northwest A&F University, China
2009.12—2012.06: Master of Sciences (Hons), The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Pakistan
2005.09—2009.08: Bachelor of Sciences (Hons), Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
TEACHING WORK
Plant-environment interactions,Document retrieval and utilization,Project planning and scientific writing, Breeding of horticultural crops, Medicinal and aromatic plants
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS
2020.03–2021.02: Dissecting the regulatory mechanism of a serine/threonine-protein kinase and α–ketoglutaratede hydrogenase E2 for bacterial-wilt resistance in tomato, Zhejiang Postdoctoral Research China, (PI)
2020.08–2022.07:Mining Genes/QTL of Tomato Important Agronomic Traits,The Key Project from Zhejiang Government, China, (Co-PI)
2021.04–2022.03:Study of function and its regulation mechanism ofBrCRF6-BrWUS1module during the gynoecium development in flowering Chinese cabbage,Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province, China, (Co-PI)
PUBLICATIONS
1. Ali M†*, Shi L†, Khan MA, Ali A, Hu S, Shen J*. Auxin biodynamics and its integral role in enhancing plant resilience to environmental cues. Physiologia Plantarum. 2025 Feb (Accepted)
2. Gao Y†, Tang T†, Cao W†, Ali M†, Zhou Q†, Zhu D, Wang C, Ca Y, Zhang Q, Pe D, Huang J, Shen J. Protoplast transient transformation facilitates subcellular localization and functional analysis of walnut proteins. Plant Physiology. 2024 Nov
3. Ali M, Abrar M, Lin Z, He H, Zhang Y. Exploring Lamiaceae-derived bioactive compounds as nature’s arsenal for sustainable pest management. Phytochemistry Review. 2024 June
4. Rahman MS†, Ali M†, Wenxiu Ye, Li B. Opportunities and Challenges in Advancing Plant Research with Single-Cell Omics. Genomics Proteomics & Bioinformatics. 2024 March; qzae026
5. Ali M, Yang T, He H, Zhang Y. Plant Biotechnology Research with Single-Cell Transcriptomics: Recent Advancements and Prospects. Plant Cell Reports. 2024 Feb; 43:75
6. Yang T, Deng L, Wang Q, Sun C, Ali M, Wu F, Zhai QX, Xin P, Cheng S Chu J, Huang T, Li CB, Li C. Tomato CYP94C1 inactivates bioactive JA-Ile to attenuate jasmonate-mediated defense during fruit ripening. Molecular Plant. 2024 Feb 6:S1674-2052
7. Yang T†, Ali M†, Lin L†, Li P, He H, Zhu Q, Sun C, Wu N, Zhang X, Huang T, LI CB, Li C, Deng L. Recoloring the tomato fruits by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated multiplex gene editing system. Horticulture Research. 2022 Sep; uhac214
8. Lamin-Samu AT, Z Shibin, Ali M*, G Lu*. Long non-coding RNA transcriptome landscape in anthers at different developmental stages in response to drought stress in tomato. Genomics. 2022 May
9. Jie W, Mengzhou L, Zhuo S, Liu Y, Yu X, Mukhtar S, Ali M*, Lu G*. Mitogen-activated protein kinase 4 is obligatory for late pollen and early fruit development in tomato. Horticulture Research. 2022 Feb; uhac048
10. Lamin-Samu AT, Farghal M, Ali M*, Lu G*. Morpho-physiological and transcriptome changes in tomato anthers of different developmental stages under drought stress. Cells. 2021 Jul;10(7):1809
11. He Y, Liu Y, Li M, Lamin-Samu AT, Yang D, Yu X, Izhar M, Jan I, Ali M*, Lu G*. The Arabidopsis SMALL AUXIN UP RNA32 protein regulates ABA-mediated responses to drought stress. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2021 Mar 12;12:259
12. Ali M, Lamin-Samu AT, Muhammad I, Farghal M, Khattak AM, Jan I, Khan A, Gong ZH, Lu G. Melatonin mitigates the infection of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides via modulation of the chitinase gene and antioxidant activity in Capsicum annuum L. Antioxidants. 2021 Jan;10(1):7
13. Ali M, Li QH, Zou T, Wei AM, Gombojab G, Lu G, Gong ZH. Chitinase gene positively regulates hypersensitive and defense responses of pepper to Colletotrichum acutatum infection. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2020 Jan;21(18):6624
14. Ali M, Muhammad I, Haq S, Alam M, Khattak AM, Akhtar K, Ullah H, Khan A, Lu G, Gong ZH. The CaChiVI2 gene of Capsicum annuum L. confers resistance against heat stress and infection of Phytophthora capsici. Frontiers in Plant Science. 2020:219. (IF: 6.27)
15. Ali M, Gai WX, Khattak AM, Khan A, Haq S, Ma X, Wei AM, Muhammad I, Jan I, Gong ZH. Knockdown of the chitin-binding protein family gene CaChiIV1 increased sensitivity to Phytophthora capsici and drought stress in pepper plants. Molecular Genetics and Genomics. 2019 Oct;294(5):1311-26
16. Ali M, Luo DX, Khan A, Haq S, Gai WX, Zhang HX, Cheng GX, Muhammad I, Gong ZH. Classification and genome-wide analysis of chitin-binding proteins gene family in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and transcriptional regulation to Phytophthora capsici, abiotic stresses and hormonal applications. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018 Aug;19(8):2216
17. Lv K, Liu N, Niu Y, Song X, Liu Y, Yue Z, Ali M, Gui Q, Lv C, Lu D, Zhang S, Zhou Y, Li B. Spatial transcriptome analysis reveals de novo regeneration of poplar roots. Horticulture Research. 2024 Aug
HONORS AND AWARDS
· Awarded post-doctorate fellowship by Zhejiang University and Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
· Member of American Society of Horticultural Sciences (ASHS)
· Awarded fully funded scholarship for Ph.D., China Scholarship Council (CSC), China
· Best student award of the year 2008, Gomal University Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan
CONTACT DETAILS
Address:State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Silviculture, Zhejiang A&F University, East Lake campus, 666 Wusu Street, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, P.R. China.
Cell:+86-18157162485
Email:ali@zafu.edu.cn alinhorti@yahoo.com
