Dr. Taghreed Alsufyani · Chemical Ecology Lab

GC–MS · CHEMICAL ECOLOGY · INFOCHEMICALS · PEST MANAGEMENT

Rapid Chemical Fingerprinting for Sustainable Crop Protection

Dr. Taghreed Abdulraheam Alsufyani explores the chemical ecology of living organisms to better understand chemically mediated interactions, support sustainable pest management, and develop greener biocontrol strategies—especially in the Taif Governorate ecosystem.

Infochemicals in agro-ecosystems GC–MS / UHPLC–MS Chemotaxonomy & biomarkers CAP / PCA / AMDIS

Dr. Taghreed A. Alsufyani

Assistant Professor (Organic Chemistry)
Department of Chemistry, College of Science
Taif University · Taif, Saudi Arabia

Languages: Arabic (native) · German (excellent) · English (excellent)

Nationality: Saudi

Contact View Publications

Affiliation

Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University.

Taif, Saudi Arabia

Research Theme

Chemical ecology of plants, insects, and marine life—discovering infochemicals that help protect crops, enhance beneficial organisms, and stabilize the environment.

Contact Emails

Taghreed.Alsufyani@tu.edu.sa

Taghreed.Alsufyani@gmail.com

Research Focus

Chemical signals · Biomarkers · Sustainable biocontrol

Chemically Mediated Interactions in Agro-Ecosystems

Focus on how plants, pests, natural enemies, and mutualists communicate via volatile chemical signals, and how these signals can be used for rapid detection, monitoring, and sustainable control.

  • Field extraction of airborne infochemicals using CLS / OpLS
  • GC–MS profiling and metabolomics-style workflows
  • Biomarker discovery and chemotaxonomic classification

Key Application Areas

  • Date palm pests (e.g., early chemical detection)
  • Aphid–host plant signatures
  • Grapevine tritrophic interactions
  • Marine macroalgae chemical ecology

CV Highlights

Education

  • PhD — Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany
  • MSc — King AbdulAziz University, Jeddah, KSA
  • BSc — Faculty of Science and Education, Jeddah, KSA

Academic & Leadership Roles

  • 2014–present: Assistant Professor (Organic Chemistry), Taif University
  • 2016–present: Coordinator, Research Unit (Chemistry Dept.)
  • 2015–2017: Postgraduate Coordinator (Faculty of Science – female section)
  • 2022–2023: Coordinator, Scientific Meeting (College of Science)

Major Project

2020–present: Head of institutional research project on the chemical ecology of aphids affecting pomegranate crops and wild olive trees in Taif Governorate, aiming to develop sustainable biocontrol methods.

Technical Skills

GC–MS
UHPLC–MS
Solid Phase Microextraction (SPME)
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE)
DNA extraction
PCR / DGGE
Infochemical field extraction (CLS / OpLS)
Metabolomics tools (AMDIS, MET-IDEA)
Multivariate stats (CAP, PCA)
Cell & Tissue Culture

Memberships & Professional Service

  • Member, British Phycological Society
  • Member, Metabolomics Society
  • Member, Saudi Biological Society
  • Editorial committee member, Advanced Research in Life Sciences & Biology (ARLSB) (2023)
  • Board editor, Journal of Aquaculture and Marine Science (2017)

Awards & Patent

  • Patent (SA16832) — 4-arm Arena Olfactometry design with VOC trap (granted 25/07/2024)
  • Multiple journal reviewer recognition awards (2024–2025)
  • Best presentation / poster awards (multiple conferences)

Methods at a Glance

Field & Headspace Collection

Airborne infochemicals are collected directly in the field from trees, pests, insects, and associated organisms using closed-loop stripping (CLS) and open-loop stripping (OpLS).

Instrumental Analysis

Volatiles are characterized using GC–MS, complemented by UHPLC–MS when needed. Sample preparation may include SPME and SPE depending on the target chemical class.

Ecological Statistics

Multivariate ecological tools (e.g., CAP, PCA) are applied to identify discriminating biomarkers and interpret community-level chemical patterns relevant to pest management.

Selected Publications

(Add “View article” links when you have DOIs/URLs.)

Nour Houda M’sakni, Taghreed Alsufyani, Noura J. Alotaibi (2025). Decoding chemical interactions among pomegranate, Aphis punicae, and associated insects in Taif fields through open-loop stripping. Frontiers in Plant Science.

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Taghreed Alsufyani et al. (2024). Chemically Mediated Interactions between Grapevine, Aphid, Ladybird, and Ant in the Context of Insect Chemical Ecology. Phyton 93(7), 1523–1542.

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Noura J. Alotaibi et al. (2023). Rapid Identification of Aphid Species by Headspace GC–MS and Discriminant Analysis. Insects 14, 589.

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Taghreed Alsufyani et al. (2023). GC Analysis, Anticancer, and Antibacterial Activities of Secondary Bioactive Compounds from Endosymbiotic Bacteria of Pomegranate Aphid and Its Predator and Protector. Molecules 28, 4255.

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Taghreed Alsufyani et al. (2020). Macroalgal–bacterial interactions: identification and role of thallusin in morphogenesis of the seaweed Ulva (Chlorophyta). Journal of Experimental Botany 71, 3340–3349.

View article

Get in Touch

For collaborations, student supervision, workshops, invited talks, or research partnerships, please contact Dr. Taghreed Alsufyani.

📧 Work: Taghreed.Alsufyani@tu.edu.sa

📧 Personal: Taghreed.Alsufyani@gmail.com

🏛 Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University

📍 P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia