Shows
Voice of IslamBreakfast Show Podcast 01-05-2025: Trump's Trade Wars and the Qur’an Prophecy of Barriers & Why Childhood Acknowledgement is a SuperpowerBreakfast Show Podcast 01-05-2025: Trump's Trade Wars and the Qur’an Prophecy of Barriers & Why Childhood Acknowledgement is a Superpower
Topic I: Trump's Trade Wars and the Qur’an Prophecy of Barriers
Topic II: Why Childhood Acknowledgement is a Superpower
Introduction and NEWS
Presenter(s):
Imam Jalees Khan
Zakariya Bhatti
Abdul Qayyum Rashid
Abdul Hadi
Guest(s):
Professor Darren Lilleker
Dr Afzal Ashraf
Dr Colin Alexander
Tamsin Grimmer
Oona Alexander
Producer:
Fatima Zunehra Danayal & Assistant Trainee Producer(s): Atia Ahmed and Hania Ahmed
Researcher(s):
Maimuna Hydara, Sehrish Arif, Fateha Iqbal, Attiya tul Subuh
Lead Producer: Zoya Danayal2025-05-011h 52
No Time To ReadS3E6 | Natalie Hoffmann | Cell wall integrity and endomembrane traffickingNo Time To Read podcast
S3E6
Cell wall integrity and endomembrane trafficking
Guest: Natalie Hoffmann, McFarlane lab, University of Toronto
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis 2024-09-2818 min
No Time To ReadS3E5 | Joseph Gallagher | GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) and SIX-ROWED SPIKE1 (VRS1) homologs share conserved roles in growth repressionNo Time To Read podcast
S3E5
GRASSY TILLERS1 (GT1) and SIX-ROWED SPIKE1 (VRS1) homologs share conserved roles in growth repression
Guest: Joseph Gallagher, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
Twitter/X: @Joe_P_Gallagher
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis 2024-08-2419 min
No Time To ReadS3E4 | Muthappa Senthil-Kumar | Combined plant stress databaseNo Time To Read podcast
S3E4
Combined plant stress database
Guest: Muthappa Senthil-Kumar, Principal Investigator, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), India
Twitter/X: @SCIPdatabase
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis2024-07-0627 min
No Time To ReadS3E3 | Cara Winter & Pablo Szekely | SHR and SCR coordinate root patterning and growth early in the cell cycleNo Time To Read podcast
S3E3
SHR and SCR coordinate root patterning and growth early in the cell cycle
Guest:
Cara Winter, Associate Research Professor, Duke University
Pablo Szekely, Postdoc, Benfey Lab, Duke University
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis 2024-06-2326 min
No Time To ReadS3E2 | Sonali Roy | The peptide GOLVEN10 alters root development and noduletaxis in Medicago truncatulaNo Time To Read podcast
S3E2
The peptide GOLVEN10 alters root development and noduletaxis in Medicago truncatula
Guest: Sonali Roy, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Tennessee State University
Twitter/X: @SonaliRoy_
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis2024-05-2517 min
No Time To ReadS3E1 | Ryan Nett | Plant carbonic anhydrase-like enzymes in neuroactive alkaloid biosynthesisNo Time To Read podcast
S3E1
Plant carbonic anhydrase-like enzymes in neuroactive alkaloid biosynthesis
Guest: Ryan Nett, Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular and cellular Biology, Harvard University
Twitter/X: @rnett42
Host: Arif Ashraf, Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Howard University
Twitter/X: @aribidopsis2024-05-0423 min
No Time To ReadSeason 3 is coming soonSeason 3 of the No Time To Read podcast is starting soon. Thanks for your support as an audience. 2024-02-2801 min
Rabbitt Stew ComicsEpisode 430 Feb 2024 Solicitations Comic Reviews: DC Outsiders 1 by Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Robert Carey, Valentina Taddeo Speed Force 1 by Jarrett Williams, Daniele Di Nicuolo, Andrew Dalhouse Marvel Alien 1 by Declan Shalvey, Andrea Broccardo, Ruth Redmond Deadpool: Seven Slaughters 1 by Cullen Bunn, Phillip Sevy, Guru eFX; Justina Ireland, Greg Land, Jay Leisten, Frank D’Armata; Rob Liefeld, Chad Bowers, Romulo Fajardo Jr.; Cody Ziglar, Federica Mancin, Bryan Valenza; Steve Foxe, Gerardo Sandoval, Dono Sanchez-Almara; Gail Simone, David Baldeon; Marc Guggenheim, While Portacio, Arif Prianto Star Wars Visions: Peach Momoko 1 by Peach Momoko Superior Spider-Man 1 by Dan Slott, Mark Ba...2023-11-262h 56
No Time To ReadS2E9 | Sunil Kenchanmane Raju | DNA methylation and Gene duplicationArticle: DNA methylation signatures of duplicate gene evolution in angiosperms
Journal: Plant Physiology
Year: 2023
Guest: Sunil Kenchanmane Raju
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Gene duplication is a source of evolutionary novelty. DNA methylation may play a role in the evolution of duplicate genes (paralogs) through its association with gene expression. While this relationship has been examined to varying extents in a few individual species, the generalizability of these results at either a broad phylogenetic scale with species of differing duplication histories or acr...2023-07-1632 min
No Time To ReadS2E8 | Margot Smit | Origin and timing of stomatal patterningArticle: Extensive embryonic patterning without cellular differentiation primes the plant epidermis for efficient post-embryonic stomatal activities
Journal: Developmental Cell
Year: 2023
Guest: Margot Smit
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Plant leaves feature epidermal stomata that are organized in stereotyped patterns. How does the pattern originate? We provide transcriptomic, imaging, and genetic evidence that Arabidopsis embryos engage known stomatal fate and patterning factors to create regularly spaced stomatal precursor cells. Analysis of embryos from 36 plant species indicates that this trait is widespread among angiosperms...2023-06-1022 min
No Time To ReadS2E7 | Katie Murphy | Specialized diterpenoid metabolism in maizeArticle: A dolabralexin-deficient mutant provides insight into specialized diterpenoid metabolism in maize
Journal: Plant Physiology
Year: 2023
Guest: Katie Murphy
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Two major groups of specialized metabolites in maize (Zea mays), termed kauralexins and dolabralexins, serve as known or predicted diterpenoid defenses against pathogens, herbivores, and other environmental stressors. To consider the physiological roles of the recently discovered dolabralexin pathway, we examined dolabralexin structural diversity, tissue-specificity, and stress-elicited production in a defined biosynthetic pathway mutant. Metabolomics analyses support a larger number of...2023-05-2117 min
No Time To ReadS2E6 | Norman Best | Maize Tassel DevelopmentArticle: Transcriptional responses to gibberellin in the maize tassel and control by DELLA domain proteins
Journal: The Plant Journal
Year: 2022
Guest: Norman Best
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
The plant hormone gibberellin (GA) impacts plant growth and development differently depending on the developmental context. In the maize (Zea mays) tassel, application of GA alters floral development, resulting in the persistence of pistils. GA signaling is achieved by the GA-dependent turnover of DELLA domain transcription factors, encoded by dwarf8 (d8) and dwarf9 (d9) in maize. The D8-Mpl and D9-1 alleles disrupt...2023-03-1110 min
No Time To ReadS2E5 | Rachel Shahan | Arabidopsis Root Cell AtlasArticle: A single-cell Arabidopsis root atlas reveals developmental trajectories in wild-type and cell identity mutants
Journal: Developmental Cell
Year: 2022
Guest: Rachel Shahan
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
In all multicellular organisms, transcriptional networks orchestrate organ development. The Arabidopsis root, with its simple structure and indeterminate growth, is an ideal model for investigating the spatiotemporal transcriptional signatures underlying developmental trajectories. To map gene expression dynamics across root cell types and developmental time, we built a comprehensive, organ-scale atlas at single-cell resolution. In addition to estimating developmental progressions in pseudotime, we employed the mathematical c...2023-02-1122 min
No Time To ReadS2E4 | Guangchao Sun | Genome sequence of Paspalum vaginatumArticle: Genome of Paspalum vaginatum and the role of trehalose mediated autophagy in increasing maize biomass
Journal: Nature Communications
Year: 2022
Guest: Guangchao Sun
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
A number of crop wild relatives can tolerate extreme stress to a degree outside the range observed in their domesticated relatives. However, it is unclear whether or how the molecular mechanisms employed by these species can be translated to domesticated crops. Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) is a self-incompatible and multiply stress-tolerant wild relative of maize and sorghum. Here, we describe the sequencing and pseudomolecule level a...2023-01-2826 min
No Time To ReadS2E3 | Marta Laskowski | Root Meristem & Lateral RootArticle: The miR156 juvenility factor and PLETHORA 2 form a regulatory network and influence timing of meristem growth and lateral root emergence
Journal: Development
Year: 2022
Guest: Marta Laskowski
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Plants develop throughout their lives: seeds become seedlings that mature and form fruits and seeds. Although the underlying mechanisms that drive these developmental phase transitions have been well elucidated for shoots, the extent to which they affect the root is less clear. However, root anatomy does change as some plants mature; meristems enlarge and radial thickening occurs. Here, in Arabidopsis t...2023-01-1417 min
No Time To ReadS2E2 | Jenn Brophy | Synthetic Biology in PlantArticle: Synthetic genetic circuits as a means of reprogramming plant roots
Journal: Science
Year: 2022
Guest: Jenn Brophy
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
The shape of a plant’s root system influences its ability to reach essential nutrients in the soil and to acquire water during drought. Progress in engineering plant roots to optimize water and nutrient acquisition has been limited by our capacity to design and build genetic programs that alter root growth in a predictable manner. We developed a collection of synthetic transcriptional regulators for plants that can be compiled to cre...2022-12-2420 min
No Time To ReadS2E1 | Ahmet Bakirbas | Can of SpinachArticle: CAN OF SPINACH, a novel long non-coding RNA, affects iron deficiency responses in Arabidopsis thaliana
Journal: Frontiers in Plant Science
Year: 2022
Guest: Ahmet Bakirbas
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules with functions independent of any protein-coding potential. A whole transcriptome (RNA-seq) study of Arabidopsis shoots under iron sufficient and deficient conditions was carried out to determine the genes that are iron-regulated in the shoots. We identified two previously unannotated transcripts on chromosome 1 that are significantly iron-regulated. We have called this iron-regulated lncRNA, CAN OF SPINACH (C...2022-11-2619 min
No Time To ReadS1E12 | Adrien Burlacot | Alternative PhotosynthesisArticle: Alternative photosynthesis pathways drive the algal CO2-concentrating mechanism
Journal: Nature
Year: 2022
Guest: Adrien Burlacot
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Global photosynthesis consumes ten times more CO2 than net anthropogenic emissions, and microalgae account for nearly half of this consumption. The high efficiency of algal photosynthesis relies on a mechanism concentrating CO2 (CCM) at the catalytic site of the carboxylating enzyme RuBisCO, which enhances CO2 fixation. Although many cellular components involved in the transport and sequestration of inorganic carbon have been identified how microalgae supply energy to concentrate CO2 against a th...2022-07-0231 min
No Time To ReadS1E11 | Maura Zimmermann | Root RespirationArticle: Oxygen uptake rates have contrasting responses to temperature in the root meristem and elongation zone
Journal: Physiologia Plantarum
Year: 2022
Guest: Maura Zimmermann
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Growing at either 15 or 25°C, roots of Arabidopsis thaliana, Columbia accession, produce cells at the same rate and have growth zones of the same length. To determine whether this constancy is related to energetics, we measured oxygen uptake by means of a vibrating oxygen-selective electrode. Concomitantly, the spatial distribution of elongation was measured kinematically, delineating meristem and elongation zone. All seedlings were germinated, grown, an...2022-06-1920 min
No Time To ReadS1E10 | Cecilia Rodriguez-Furlan | Polarized IRK and KOINArticle: Distinct mechanisms orchestrate the contra-polarity of IRK and KOIN, two LRR-receptor-kinases controlling root cell division
Journal: Nature Communications
Year: 2022
Guest: Cecilia Rodriguez-Furlan
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
In plants, cell polarity plays key roles in coordinating developmental processes. Despite the characterization of several polarly localized plasma membrane proteins, the mechanisms connecting protein dynamics with cellular functions often remain unclear. Here, we introduce a polarized receptor, KOIN, that restricts cell divisions in the Arabidopsis root meristem. In the endodermis, KOIN polarity is opposite to IRK, a receptor that represses endodermal cell divisions. Th...2022-05-2129 min
No Time To ReadS1E9 | Michael Nicolas | Above-ground potatoArticle: Spatial control of potato tuberization by the TCP transcription factor BRANCHED1b
Journal: Nature Plants
Year: 2022
Guest: Michael Nicolas
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
The control of carbon allocation, storage and usage is critical for plant growth and development and is exploited for both crop food production and CO2 capture. Potato tubers are natural carbon reserves in the form of starch that have evolved to allow propagation and survival over winter. They form from stolons, below ground, where they are protected from adverse environmental conditions and animal foraging. We show that...2022-05-0727 min
No Time To ReadS1E8 | Joseph Cammarata | Cytokinin-CLAVATA cross-talk regulates shoot meristemArticle: Cytokinin–CLAVATA cross-talk is an ancient mechanism regulating shoot meristem homeostasis in land plants
Journal: PNAS
Year: 2022
Guest: Joseph Cammarata
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Plant shoots grow from stem cells within shoot apical meristems (SAMs), which produce lateral organs while maintaining the stem cell pool. In the model flowering plant Arabidopsis, the CLAVATA (CLV) pathway functions antagonistically with cytokinin signaling to control the size of the multicellular SAM via negative regulation of the stem cell organizer WUSCHEL (WUS). Although comprising just a single cell, the SAM of the model moss Phy...2022-04-2328 min
No Time To ReadS1E7 | Ashley Hostetler | Embracing brace rootsArticle: Multiple brace root phenotypes promote anchorage and limit root lodging in maize
Journal: Plant, Cell & Environment
Year: 2022
Guest: Ashley Hostetler
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Plant mechanical failure (lodging) causes global yield losses of 7%−66% in cereal crops. We have previously shown that the above-ground nodal roots (brace roots) in maize are critical for anchorage. However, it is unknown how brace root phenotypes vary across genotypes and the functional consequence of this variation. This study quantifies the contribution of brace roots to anchorage, brace root traits, plant height, and root lodging susceptibility in...2022-04-0920 min
No Time To ReadS1E6 | Vikram Jathar | Leaf size regulationArticle: Spatial control of cell division by GA-OsGRF7/8 module in a leaf explaining the leaf length variation between cultivated and wild rice
Journal: New Phytologist
Year: 2022
Guest: Vikram Jathar
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Cellular and genetic understanding of the rice leaf size regulation is limited, despite rice being the staple food of more than half of the global population. We investigated the mechanism controlling the rice leaf length using cultivated and wild rice accessions that remarkably differed for leaf size.
Comparative transcriptomics, gibberellic acid (GA) quantification and leaf kinematics...2022-03-2632 min
No Time To ReadS1E5 | Minya & Stephanie | Live imaging of floral organArticle: Quantitative live imaging of floral organ initiation and floral meristem termination in Aquilegia
Journal: Development
Year: 2022
Guest: Min Ya & Stephanie Conway
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
In-depth investigation of any developmental process in plants requires knowledge of both the underpinning molecular networks and how they directly determine patterns of cell division and expansion over time. Floral meristems (FMs) produce floral organs, after which they undergo floral meristem termination (FMT); precise control of organ initiation and FMT is crucial to the reproductive success of any flowering plant. Using live confocal imaging, we c...2022-03-1235 min
No Time To ReadS1E4 | Grey Monroe | Mutations are NOT randomArticle: Mutation bias reflects natural selection in Arabidopsis thaliana
Journal: Nature
Year: 2022
Guest: Grey Monroe
Host: Arif Ashraf
Grey Monroes' tweetorial on this article: https://twitter.com/Grey_Monroe/status/1481298489191837701
Abstract
Since the first half of the twentieth century, evolutionary theory has been dominated by the idea that mutations occur randomly with respect to their consequences1. Here we test this assumption with large surveys of de novo mutations in the plant Arabidopsis thaliana. In contrast to expectations, we find that mutations occur less often in functionally constrained regions of t...2022-02-2624 min
No Time To ReadS1E3 | Ivan Radin | Mechanosensing in plantArticle: Plant PIEZO homologs modulate vacuole morphology during tip growth
Journal: Science
Year: 2021
Guest: Ivan Radin
Host: Arif Ashraf
Molecular Plant Editorial highlight: Evolutionarily conserved mechanosensor PIEZO in land plants
Abstract
In animals, PIEZOs are plasma membrane–localized cation channels involved in diverse mechanosensory processes. We investigated PIEZO function in tip-growing cells in the moss Physcomitrium patens and the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana. PpPIEZO1 and PpPIEZO2 redundantly contribute to the normal growth, size, and cytoplasmic calcium oscillations of caulonemal cells. Both PpPIEZO1 and PpPIEZO2 localized to vacuolar membranes. Loss-of-function, ga...2022-02-1232 min
No Time To ReadS1E2 | Laura Bacete | Plant Cell Wall StiffnessArticle: THESEUS1 modulates cell wall stiffness and abscisic acid production in Arabidopsis thaliana
Journal: PNAS
Year: 2021
Guest: Laura Bacete
Host: Arif Ashraf
A well explained Tweetorial from Laura: https://twitter.com/LauraBacete/status/1478342822780674053
Abstract
Plant cells can be distinguished from animal cells by their cell walls and high-turgor pressure. Although changes in turgor and the stiffness of cell walls seem coordinated, we know little about the mechanism responsible for coordination. Evidence has accumulated that plants, like yeast, have a dedicated cell wall integrity maintenance mechanism. It monitors the functional...2022-01-2124 min
No Time To ReadS1E1 | Carlos Ortiz-Ramírez | Ground tissue developmentArticle: Ground tissue circuitry regulates organ complexity in maize and Setaria
Journal: Science
Year: 2021
Guest: Carlos Ortiz-Ramírez
Host: Arif Ashraf
Abstract
Most plant roots have multiple cortex layers that make up the bulk of the organ and play key roles in physiology, such as flood tolerance and symbiosis. However, little is known about the formation of cortical layers outside of the highly reduced anatomy of Arabidopsis. Here, we used single-cell RNA sequencing to rapidly generate a cell-resolution map of the maize root, revealing an alternative configuration of the tissue formative tr...2022-01-0721 min
No Time To ReadNo Time To Read | Season 01 | TrailerArif, plant biologist and host of the podcast, will talk to either first author or corresponding author of a recently published plant biology paper. The guest will simply explain the story of the publication, answer questions from the host, and share personal experience and details related to the article. As an audience, you will tune in to the episode with an expectation that you will know the story of the paper without reading it. Besides, you can keep listening the podcast during your experiment, walking outside, in your car and wherever possible. 2021-12-1801 min
MIXTAPE PodcastS1E10: A new addition to the growing pool of fantasy writers of PakistanAleena Ashraf is a graduate of COMSATS University, Islamabad. She has an undergrad degree in Biosciences. She is quite passionate about storytelling and her preferred genre is fantasy.
Through her fiction, she is highlighting some of the most crucial topics we face today including; racism, mental health, bullying, personal struggles to name a few.
Soar is her first publication and it is the first book in a series that she is working on. It is quite encouraging to see young Pakistani authors exploring diverse genres of storytelling.2021-09-2525 min