Katayoon Dehesh

Plants can stop growing within minutes to survive sudden stress

tomwt — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 22:04:13 +0000

Plants can stop growing within minutes to survive sudden stress tomwt Mon, 03/30/2026 - 15:04 More CNAS in the Media Andrei Ionescu | Earth.com March 26, 2026

EARTH.COM - Plants can’t run from danger. When sunlight suddenly becomes too intense, temperatures spike, or conditions turn hostile, they have to survive exactly where they are.

To cope, they rely on rapid internal changes. One of the most important is the ability to slow growth almost instantly – not over hours or days, but within minutes. That quick response can mean the difference between surviving a burst of stress or suffering lasting damage.

Now, researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR), say they’ve uncovered how that rapid slowdown actually works.

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Department of Botany & Plant Sciences

Katayoon Dehesh

Plants pause their own growth to survive stress

tomwt — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:10:52 +0000

Plants pause their own growth to survive stress tomwt Mon, 03/30/2026 - 08:10 More CNAS in the Media Eric Ralls | Earth.com March 28, 2026

EARTH.COM - Scientists have identified a single molecule that surges inside stressed plant cells and rapidly chokes off a growth pathway they cannot live without.

The study recasts stunted growth as an active survival response, and it points to a hidden control system that could shape tougher crops.

Inside leaf cells, the slowdown took hold in a pathway so essential that disabling one key enzyme can be fatal.

By tracking shifts in the pathway’s compounds, Wilhelmina van de Ven at the University of California, Riverside (UCR⁠) identified a single intermediate that surged as growth began to slow.

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Department of Botany & Plant Sciences

Katayoon Dehesh

Scientists make astonishing discovery about plants at the molecular level — here's how it could help solve major problems in the medical field

tomwt — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 15:49:53 +0000

Scientists make astonishing discovery about plants at the molecular level — here's how it could help solve major problems in the medical field tomwt Tue, 02/11/2025 - 07:49 More CNAS in the Media Tina Deines | The Cool Down February 11, 2025

THE COOL DOWN - Scientists at the University of California-Riverside recently discovered a chemical that plants produce that could help prevent infections in medical patients.

Science Daily reported on the findings, explaining that biofilm is a slimy bacterial layer that clings to surfaces. In a medical setting, this film can make it harder to treat infections when they form on devices like catheters and implants. It can also damage medical equipment.

Plants produce a metabolite — a molecule that is produced during the life-sustaining chemical reactions inside plants — called MEcPP when they are stressed. This molecule then triggers protective responses within the plant. In this study, the researchers found that it also disrupts biofilm development by interfering with bacteria's ability to attach to surfaces.

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As for the new research from UC Riverside, "This study is a testament to the unexpected connections between plant biology and microbiology," lead author Jingzhe Guo said, per Science Daily. "It's thrilling to think a molecule that plants use to signal stress might one day help humans combat bacterial threats."

"By preventing the early stages of biofilm development, this molecule offers real potential to improve outcomes in any industries reliant on clean surfaces," added corresponding author Katayoon Dehesh.

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Department of Botany & Plant Sciences

Katayoon Dehesh

Plants and empowerment

ilseu — Tue, 18 Aug 2020 16:36:42 +0000

Plants and empowerment ilseu Tue, 08/18/2020 - 09:36 More College News Jules Bernstein | Inside UCR August 18, 2020

Katayoon "Katie" Dehesh, president-elect of the American Society of Plant Biologists (Stan Lim/UCR)

Katayoon "Katie" Dehesh has many distinguished titles: director of UC Riverside’s Institute for Integrative Genome Biology, distinguished professor of molecular biochemistry, member of the German National Academy of Sciences, and now, president-elect of the American Society of Plant Biologists. But her attitude toward life can be summarized in a single word: power.

“My mantra is power, as my dream is to empower the young, strengthen their belief in the power of determination and positive thinking,” she said.

That mantra has taken Dehesh far in life. Originally from Iran, she developed an interest in plants that grow on soils with “unimaginably high salt content.” This interest took her to England, where she earned her doctorate in plant biology at Sussex University, and then back to Tehran for an assistant professorship at the National University.

Soon after accepting the position, Dehesh was banned from traveling and, like all women in Iran with medical or doctoral degrees, required to serve in the military. In 1980, just as the Iran-Iraq war began, she “heard the bells of revolution,” and left the country.

Dehesh then became the only foreigner and only woman at the time to obtain a tenure-track position at the University of Keil in Germany, where she studied the biochemistry of plant greening under stress. Her position gave her a unique opportunity to help empower female graduate students at the institute.

Her next move was to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to learn molecular biology, and then ultimately to UC Davis where her research shifted to general stress responses in plants.

She remained at Davis for 18 years, teaching and becoming chair of the plant biology graduate program, and the chair of Designated Emphasis on Biotechnology program. One memory stands out for her from those years that epitomizes her mantra.

Many of the classes she taught were large, comprised of as many as 600 students. One day, an undergraduate came to her, asking to postpone an exam due to some difficult personal issues.

“I told her that the power to solve her problems lay within her, and that she shouldn’t seek it externally,” Dehesh said.

Years later, a young lady Dehesh didn’t recognize came up to her in the gym and showed her the letter ‘P’ for power tattooed on her thumb. It was that same student, who heeded Dehesh’s advice and eventually got accepted into medical school.

“You helped make my life, and I’m going to give power to others now,” the student told Dehesh.

In 2016, Dehesh came to UCR as director of the Institute of Integrative Genome Biology. Her research is now focused on understanding the chemistry shared by plants and animals, with an eye toward using that knowledge to use plants as a platform for drug discovery.

She is also expanding the core activities of the institute to train undergraduates in analytical techniques that will open up pathways to employment.

The American Society of Plant Biologists was originally established in 1924 to promote the growth of plant biology as a discipline. Though ‘American’ is in its name, membership spans six continents and such diverse areas as academia, government laboratories, and private industry.

When Dehesh assumes the role of president on Oct. 20, her goal is to further integrate the plant biologists’ society with society at large, and to enhance opportunities for early career and underrepresented members.

“I want us to come out of our ivory tower, to engage with the public, explain what we do and how we can impact the next generation of educators, students, faculty members and everyone else,” she said.

Throughout her three-year tenure as president, she is sure to be guided by her lifelong mantra. “Power is just a word,” Dehesh said. “But it conveys a message we can give to others — and to ourselves.”

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Institute of Integrative Genome Biology

Katayoon Dehesh