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Graduate Student or Post Graduate
01 December 2017 - 31 August 2021
Graduate Student or Post Graduate
01 November 2015 - 01 September 2017
Senior Scientist or Principal Investigator
01 April 2012 - 01 November 2015
Plant protoplasts are significant for plant cell culture, somatic cell fusion, genetics, and breeding studies. In addition, in vitro plant regeneration has great importance for developmental biology, manifesting potential applications in agriculture and biotechnology. In this regard, we present a well-established protocol regarding protoplast isolation, cell culture and protoplast fusion of Jasminum spp. In particular, different tissues of Jasminumsamab L. and Jasminum mesnyi were employed for protoplast isolation, and stem explants provided a high callus induction rate in a short period of time. The best source for protoplast isolation was calli tissues. The optimized isolation protocol consisted of digesting callus in an enzyme solution containing 0.4 M mannitol, 0.2 M MES, 1 M CaCl2, 0.2 M KCL and 1 M NaH2PO4, 1.5% Cellulases onozuka R-10, 0.4% Macerozyme R-10 and 0.8% Pectinase for 4 h at 26 °C in the dark, providing a yield of 23.8 × 106 Protoplast/gFW with 88% viability. Protoplasts were cultured both in liquid and agarose medium under optimum conditions, leading to microcalli formation after eight weeks. A 5% protoplast-fusion rate can be achieved when cultured in 40% (w/v) PEG-MW6000 supplemented with 0.1 M CaCl2, 0.1 M sorbitol and 1 M Tris for 20 min. Furthermore, we developed an efficient PEG-mediated transformation protocol for jasmine protoplasts. The best results regarding protoplast transformation were obtained when the protoplast concentration was 4 × 105 cells/mL and the exogenous plasmid DNA added had a concentration of 10 µg DNA/100 µL protoplast solution, followed by the application of 40% PEG-4000 for 10 min.
Mohamed Ahmed; Miao Miao; Emmanouil Pratsinakis; Hongliang Zhang; Wei Wang; Yuan Yuan; Meiling Lyu; Junaid Iftikhar; Ahmed Yousef; Panagiotis Madesis; Binghua Wu. Protoplast Isolation, Fusion, Culture and Transformation in the Woody Plant Jasminum spp. Agriculture 2021, 11, 699 .
AMA StyleMohamed Ahmed, Miao Miao, Emmanouil Pratsinakis, Hongliang Zhang, Wei Wang, Yuan Yuan, Meiling Lyu, Junaid Iftikhar, Ahmed Yousef, Panagiotis Madesis, Binghua Wu. Protoplast Isolation, Fusion, Culture and Transformation in the Woody Plant Jasminum spp. Agriculture. 2021; 11 (8):699.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMohamed Ahmed; Miao Miao; Emmanouil Pratsinakis; Hongliang Zhang; Wei Wang; Yuan Yuan; Meiling Lyu; Junaid Iftikhar; Ahmed Yousef; Panagiotis Madesis; Binghua Wu. 2021. "Protoplast Isolation, Fusion, Culture and Transformation in the Woody Plant Jasminum spp." Agriculture 11, no. 8: 699.
Environmental factors play critical role in determining growth and development of fruits. This phenomenon has been known for quite a while, and endeavors have been made worldwide to examine the connections and create relapse conditions and models to foresee plant profitability. These activities are continuing today, and some of the more recent efforts are presented in this review. This review provides comprehensive information on different climatic factors including light, temperature, humidity and atmospheric gases influencing physio-morphological characteristics of fruits.
Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Binqi Li; Faxing Chen. Effect of Environmental Factors on Growth and Development of Fruits. Tropical Plant Biology 2021, 1 -13.
AMA StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali, Ahmed Fathy Yousef, Binqi Li, Faxing Chen. Effect of Environmental Factors on Growth and Development of Fruits. Tropical Plant Biology. 2021; ():1-13.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Binqi Li; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Effect of Environmental Factors on Growth and Development of Fruits." Tropical Plant Biology , no. : 1-13.
It is already known that there are many factors responsible for the successful grafting process in plants, including light intensity. However, the influence of the spectrum of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) on this process has almost never been tested. During the pre-grafting process tomato seedlings grew for 30 days under 100 μmol m-2 s-1 of mixed LEDs (red 70%+ blue 30%). During the post-grafting period, seedlings grew for 20 days under the same light intensity but the lightening source was either red LED, mixed LEDs (red 70% + blue 30%), blue LED or white fluorescent lamps. This was done to determine which light source(s) could better improve seedling quality and increase grafting success. Our results showed that application of red and blue light mixture (R7:B3) caused significant increase in total leaf area, dry weight (total, shoot and root), total chlorophyll/carotenoid ratio, soluble protein and sugar content. Moreover, this light treatment maintained better photosynthetic performance i.e. more effective quantum yield of PSII photochemistry Y(II), better photochemical quenching (qP), and higher electron transport rate (ETR). This can be partially explained by the observed upregulation of gene expression levels of PsaA and PsbA and the parallel protein expression levels. This in turn could lead to better functioning of the photosynthetic apparatus of tomato seedlings and then to faster production of photoassimilate ready to be translocated to various tissues and organs, including those most in need, i.e., involved in the formation of the graft union.
Ahmed F. Yousef; Muhammad M. Ali; Hafiz M. Rizwan; Mohamed A. A. Ahmed; Waleed M. Ali; Hazem M. Kalaji; Nabil Elsheery; Jacek Wróbel; Yong Xu; Faxing Chen. Effects of light spectrum on morpho-physiological traits of grafted tomato seedlings. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0250210 .
AMA StyleAhmed F. Yousef, Muhammad M. Ali, Hafiz M. Rizwan, Mohamed A. A. Ahmed, Waleed M. Ali, Hazem M. Kalaji, Nabil Elsheery, Jacek Wróbel, Yong Xu, Faxing Chen. Effects of light spectrum on morpho-physiological traits of grafted tomato seedlings. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (5):e0250210.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAhmed F. Yousef; Muhammad M. Ali; Hafiz M. Rizwan; Mohamed A. A. Ahmed; Waleed M. Ali; Hazem M. Kalaji; Nabil Elsheery; Jacek Wróbel; Yong Xu; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Effects of light spectrum on morpho-physiological traits of grafted tomato seedlings." PLOS ONE 16, no. 5: e0250210.
This study was conducted to analyze the effect of molybdenum (Mo) on the level of macronutrients (Mg, K, Ca), micronutrients (Na, Zn, B, Mo, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) and toxic elements (Cd, Sn, As, Cr, Hg, Pb) in leaves and fruit tissues (peel, pulp & seed) of loquat using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Fruits were obtained from a loquat orchard located in Fujian (Yun Xiao/Zhangzhou). Loquat leaves showed 3.99, 23.90, 57.68 and 9.79-fold increase in the concentrations of Mg, K, Ca and B as affected by exogenously applied Mo, while a significant (p ≤ 0.05) reduction was observed in Na, Mo, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Sn, As, Cr, Hg, and Pb contents. In fruit peel, Mo induced 1.05, 1.56, 2.26, 1.15, 1.39, 1.30 and 1.89-fold increase in Mg, K, Na, Zn, B, Co and Ni, respectively, and Mo, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cr, and Pb contents were reduced. Fruit pulp showed elevated contents of Na, B, Co, Ni, and Sn by 25.65, 26.57, 70.09, 12.33 and 0.99%, respectively, and decreased concentrations of Mg, K, Ca, Zn, Mo, Mn, Fe, Cu, Cd, and Cr. Similarly, in loquat seeds, under the influence of Mo application, levels of K, Na, Zn, Fe, and Cr were uplifted by 14.75, 41.54, 12.71, 536.47 and 656.27%, respectively, while Mg, Ca, Mn, Co, Cu, Sn, and Hg were reduced significantly (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, mineral concentrations detected in the leaves and fruit tissues of loquat were greatly influenced by the application of Mo. Although the concentration of Sn in fruit pulp was increased by the foliar application of Mo, the fruits were under safe limits for human consumption.
Muhammad Ali; Binqi Li; Cao Zhi; Ahmed Yousef; Faxing Chen. Foliar-Supplied Molybdenum Improves Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Agronomy 2021, 11, 892 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Ali, Binqi Li, Cao Zhi, Ahmed Yousef, Faxing Chen. Foliar-Supplied Molybdenum Improves Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Agronomy. 2021; 11 (5):892.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Ali; Binqi Li; Cao Zhi; Ahmed Yousef; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Foliar-Supplied Molybdenum Improves Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.)." Agronomy 11, no. 5: 892.
It is already known that the process of photosynthesis depends on the quality and intensity of light. However, the influence of the new light sources recently used in horticulture, known as Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs), on this process is not yet fully understood. Chlorophyll a fluorescence measurement has been widely used as a rapid, reliable, and noninvasive tool to study the efficiency of the photosystem II (PSII) and to evaluate plant responses to various environmental factors, including light intensity and quality. In this work, we tested the responses of the tomato photosynthetic apparatus to different light spectral qualities. Our results showed that the best performance of the photosynthetic apparatus was observed under a mixture of red and blue light (R7:B3) or a mixture of red, green and blue light (R3:G2:B5). This was demonstrated by the increase in the effective photochemical quantum yield of PSII (Y[II]), photochemical quenching (qP) and electron transport rate (ETR). On the other hand, the mixture of red and blue light with a high proportion of blue light led to an increase in non-photochemical quenching (NPQ). Our results can be used to improve the production of tomato plants under artificial light conditions. However, since we found that the responses of the photosynthetic apparatus of tomato plants to a particular light regime were cultivar-dependent and there was a weak correlation between the growth and photosynthetic parameters tested in this work, special attention should be paid in future research.
Ahmed F. Yousef; Muhammad M. Ali; Hafiz M. Rizwan; Shehu Abubakar Tadda; Hazem M. Kalaji; Hao Yang; Mohamed A. A. Ahmed; Jacek Wróbel; Yong Xu; Faxing Chen. Photosynthetic apparatus performance of tomato seedlings grown under various combinations of LED illumination. PLOS ONE 2021, 16, e0249373 .
AMA StyleAhmed F. Yousef, Muhammad M. Ali, Hafiz M. Rizwan, Shehu Abubakar Tadda, Hazem M. Kalaji, Hao Yang, Mohamed A. A. Ahmed, Jacek Wróbel, Yong Xu, Faxing Chen. Photosynthetic apparatus performance of tomato seedlings grown under various combinations of LED illumination. PLOS ONE. 2021; 16 (4):e0249373.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAhmed F. Yousef; Muhammad M. Ali; Hafiz M. Rizwan; Shehu Abubakar Tadda; Hazem M. Kalaji; Hao Yang; Mohamed A. A. Ahmed; Jacek Wróbel; Yong Xu; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Photosynthetic apparatus performance of tomato seedlings grown under various combinations of LED illumination." PLOS ONE 16, no. 4: e0249373.
Fruit quality is certainly influenced by biotic and abiotic factors, and a main quality attribute is the external appearance of the fruit. Various possible agronomical approaches are able to regulate the fruit microenvironment and, consequently, improve fruit quality and market value. Among these, fruit bagging has recently become an integral part of fruits’ domestic and export markets in countries such as Japan, China, Korea Australia and the USA because it is a safe and eco-friendly technique to protect fruits from multiple stresses, preserving or improving the overall quality. Despite increasing global importance, the development of suitable bagging materials and, above all, their use in the field is quite laborious, so that serious efforts are required to enhance and standardize bagging material according to the need of the crops/fruits. This review provides information about the effects of bagging technique on the fruit aspect and texture, which are the main determinants of consumer choice.
Muhammad Ali; Raheel Anwar; Ahmed Yousef; Binqi Li; Andrea Luvisi; Luigi Bellis; Alessio Aprile; Faxing Chen. Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits. Plants 2021, 10, 358 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Ali, Raheel Anwar, Ahmed Yousef, Binqi Li, Andrea Luvisi, Luigi Bellis, Alessio Aprile, Faxing Chen. Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits. Plants. 2021; 10 (2):358.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Ali; Raheel Anwar; Ahmed Yousef; Binqi Li; Andrea Luvisi; Luigi Bellis; Alessio Aprile; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Influence of Bagging on the Development and Quality of Fruits." Plants 10, no. 2: 358.
Temperature is a key factor influencing plant growth and productivity, however sudden increases in temperature can cause severe consequences in terms of crop performance. We evaluated the influence of elementary sulfur application on the physiology and growth of two tomato genotypes (“Ahmar” and “Roma”) grown in two growth chambers (at 25 and 45 °C). Plants were sprayed with 2, 4, 6, and 8 ppm sulfur 45 days after sowing (untreated plants were kept as control). Plants of the “Roma” cultivar receiving 6 ppm sulfur exhibited maximal shoot and root biomass values followed by those receiving 4 ppm under both temperature conditions. Maximal CO2 index, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate, and greenness index values (188.1 µmol mol−1, 36.3 µmol CO2 m−2 s−1, 1.8 µmol H2O m−2 s−1, and 95 SPAD, respectively) were observed in plants of “Roma” cultivar grown at 25 °C, indicating positive influences of sulfur on tomato physiology. Similarly, sulfur maximized proline, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium contents in leaves of both genotypes at both temperatures. The differences between control and sulfur-treated plants grown under heat stress indicate a possible role of sulfur in mitigating heat stress. Overall, our results suggest that 6 ppm of sulfur is the best dose to alleviate tomato heat stress and enhance the morphological, physiological, and biochemical attributes of tomato plants.
Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Muhammad Waleed Shafique; Shaista Gull; Waleed Afzal Naveed; Talha Javed; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Rosario Paolo Mauro. Alleviation of Heat Stress in Tomato by Exogenous Application of Sulfur. Horticulturae 2021, 7, 21 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali, Muhammad Waleed Shafique, Shaista Gull, Waleed Afzal Naveed, Talha Javed, Ahmed Fathy Yousef, Rosario Paolo Mauro. Alleviation of Heat Stress in Tomato by Exogenous Application of Sulfur. Horticulturae. 2021; 7 (2):21.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali; Muhammad Waleed Shafique; Shaista Gull; Waleed Afzal Naveed; Talha Javed; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Rosario Paolo Mauro. 2021. "Alleviation of Heat Stress in Tomato by Exogenous Application of Sulfur." Horticulturae 7, no. 2: 21.
This study was conducted to analyze the effect of magnesium (Mg), zinc (Zn) and boron (B) on the level of macronutrients (Na, Mg, K, Ca), micronutrients (Zn, B, Mo, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu), and heavy metals (Cd, As, Hg, Pb) in loquat leaves and fruit tissues (peel, pulp, and seed) using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Fruits were obtained from a loquat orchard located in Fujian (Yun Xiao/Zhangzhou). The results revealed that the foliar application of Mg increased the concentrations of Mg, K, Ca, Zn, B, Mn, Ni, and Cu in leaves; Mg, Ca, Zn, B, Mo, and Mn in fruit pulp; and Na, K, B, Mo, Co, Ni, and Cu in seeds. Zinc increased Mg, K, Ca, Zn, B, Ni, and Cu in leaves; Fe, Co and Ni in fruit peel; K, B, Mn, Fe, and Co in fruit pulp; and Na and K in seeds. Similarly, B application increased the concentrations of Na, Mg, K, Ca, and B in leaves; Ca and Ni in fruit peel; Na, Mg, Ca, Zn, B, Mn, Fe, and Co in fruit pulp; and Na, K, Ca, Zn, B, Mo, Mn, Co, and Ni in loquat seeds. Overall, mineral concentrations detected in the leaves and fruit tissues of loquats were greatly influenced by the application of Mg, Zn and B. Although heavy metal concentrations in fruit pulp were increased by the foliar application of B, the fruits were under safe limits for human consumption.
Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Raheel Anwar; Muhammad Waleed Shafique; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Faxing Chen. Exogenous Application of Mg, Zn and B Influences Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Agronomy 2021, 11, 224 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali, Raheel Anwar, Muhammad Waleed Shafique, Ahmed Fathy Yousef, Faxing Chen. Exogenous Application of Mg, Zn and B Influences Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.). Agronomy. 2021; 11 (2):224.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali; Raheel Anwar; Muhammad Waleed Shafique; Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Faxing Chen. 2021. "Exogenous Application of Mg, Zn and B Influences Phyto-Nutritional Composition of Leaves and Fruits of Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.)." Agronomy 11, no. 2: 224.
This study was conducted to comparatively assess the effects of fertilization typology (organic, inorganic, and biofertilization) on the growth, yield, and compositional profile of Jew’s mallow. The experiment was carried out over two growing seasons, under semi-arid climate conditions on silty loam soil. We adopted three fertilization strategies: (1) inorganic NPK fertilizer (146, 74, and 57 kg ha−1 for N, P2O5, and K2O, respectively), (2) farmyard manure (36 m3 ha−1), and (3) a biofertilizer (a set of mixed cultures of Bacillus spp., Candida spp., and Trichoderma spp. at 36 L ha−1). Treatment combinations were control (without fertilization, T1), NPK fertilizer (T2), farmyard manure (FYM, T3), biofertilizer (T4), NPK+biofertilizer (T5), and FYM+biofertilizer (T6). The T5 treatment maximized both plant and leaf biomass (up to 31.6 and 8.0 t ha−1, respectively), plant height (68.5 cm), leaf area (370 cm m−2), leaf protein content (18.7%), as well as N, P, and K concentration in leaves (2.99, 0.88, and 2.01 mg 100 g−1, respectively). The leaves’ weight incidence was lower in T5 treatment (36.7%) as compared to the unfertilized plants (T1). The results revealed that the combined application of inorganic NPK plus biofertilizer is most beneficial to increase growth, yield, and nutrient accumulation in Jew’s mallow plants.
Ahmed Fathy Yousef; Mohamed Ahmed Youssef; Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Muhammed Mustapha Ibrahim; Yong Xu; Rosario Paolo Mauro. Improved Growth and Yield Response of Jew’s Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) Plants Through Biofertilization Under Semi-Arid Climate Conditions in Egypt. Agronomy 2020, 10, 1801 .
AMA StyleAhmed Fathy Yousef, Mohamed Ahmed Youssef, Muhammad Moaaz Ali, Muhammed Mustapha Ibrahim, Yong Xu, Rosario Paolo Mauro. Improved Growth and Yield Response of Jew’s Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) Plants Through Biofertilization Under Semi-Arid Climate Conditions in Egypt. Agronomy. 2020; 10 (11):1801.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAhmed Fathy Yousef; Mohamed Ahmed Youssef; Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Muhammed Mustapha Ibrahim; Yong Xu; Rosario Paolo Mauro. 2020. "Improved Growth and Yield Response of Jew’s Mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) Plants Through Biofertilization Under Semi-Arid Climate Conditions in Egypt." Agronomy 10, no. 11: 1801.
The seed industry and farmers have challenges, which include the production of poor quality and non-certified tomato seed, which ultimately results in decreased crop production. The issue carefully demands pre-sowing treatments using exogenous chemical plant growth-promoting substances. Therefore, to mitigate the above-stated problem, a series of experiments were conducted to improve the quality of tomato seeds (two cultivars, i.e., “Sundar” and “Ahmar”) and to enhance the stand establishment, vigor, physiological, and biochemical attributes under growth chamber and greenhouse conditions by using potassium nitrate (KNO3) as a seed priming agent. Seeds were imbibed in 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.0, and 1.25 KNO3 (weight/volume) for 24 h and then dried before experiments. The results of growth chamber and greenhouse screening show that experimental units receiving tomato seeds primed with 0.75% KNO3 in both cultivars performed better as compared to other concentrations and nonprimed control. Significant increase in final emergence (%), mean emergence time, and physiological attributes were observed with 0.75% KNO3. Collectively, the improved performance of tomato due to seed priming with 0.75% KNO3 was linked with higher activities of total soluble sugars and phenolics under growth chamber and greenhouse screening.
Muhammad Moaaz Ali; Talha Javed; Rosario Mauro; Rubab Shabbir; Irfan Afzal; Ahmed Yousef. Effect of Seed Priming with Potassium Nitrate on the Performance of Tomato. Agriculture 2020, 10, 498 .
AMA StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali, Talha Javed, Rosario Mauro, Rubab Shabbir, Irfan Afzal, Ahmed Yousef. Effect of Seed Priming with Potassium Nitrate on the Performance of Tomato. Agriculture. 2020; 10 (11):498.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMuhammad Moaaz Ali; Talha Javed; Rosario Mauro; Rubab Shabbir; Irfan Afzal; Ahmed Yousef. 2020. "Effect of Seed Priming with Potassium Nitrate on the Performance of Tomato." Agriculture 10, no. 11: 498.