Dr. Nitzan Shabek received the prestigious 2025-26 CBS Faculty Research Award for “a study that is changing scientists’ understanding of how plants respond to disease and environmental stress.” https://biology.ucdavis.edu/news/cbs-faculty-awards-recognize-excellence-research-and-teaching
Dr. Nitzan Shabek received the UC Davis Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching, recognizing his commitment to excellence in the classroom and undergraduate mentorship. Dr. Shabek teaches biochemistry to hundreds of students each year, helping them build a strong foundation from atoms and amino acids to protein structure, function, and enzyme kinetics. His…
Exciting news from the Shabek Lab! Our new research article is now published in Nature Communications: Salicylic Acid Modulates Its Catabolic Enzymes via Proteasomal Degradation Linked to SCF-Associated Proximity Networks by Natalie Hamada, Malathy Palayam, Jacob Moe-Lange, Sun Hyun Chang, collaborators, and Nitzan Shabek. This study uncovers a new regulatory mechanism controlling the immune hormone…
Our new focused review article is now published in The Plant Journal: Ubiquitin Ligases in Plant Immunity: Structural Mechanisms and Signaling by Natalie Hamada, Katherine A. Hand, and Nitzan Shabek. This review explores how E3 ubiquitin ligases function as master regulators of plant immunity, controlling the stability and activity of receptors, kinases, transcription factors, and…
Our new review article is now online in Annual Review of Plant Biology: Structural Insights into Plant Hormone-Sensing Mechanisms by Sun Hyun Chang, Malathy Palayam, Katherine A. Hand, and Nitzan Shabek. This review highlights how plants detect hormones through remarkably diverse receptors and signaling systems that control growth, development, immunity, and environmental adaptation. Drawing on…
Molecular Insights into Volatile Organic Compound Sensing and Signaling in Plants by Matthew E. Bergman, Sun Hyun Chang, Benoît Boachon, Nitzan Shabek, and Natalia Dudareva. This review explores how plants sense volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by neighboring plants, microbes, and the environment, revealing an emerging layer of plant communication. We highlight the receptors and…
Our new review article is now published in The Plant Journal: An Emerging Signaling Hub: KAI2 at the Nexus of Phytohormone Networks by Jacob Moe-Lange and Nitzan Shabek This work highlights how the receptor KAI2 has evolved from a niche player in seed germination to a central coordinator of plant growth, stress responses, and hormone…
New study out as a preprint to close out 2025! 🌱 In collaboration with the Walley lab, we report dynamic ASK1 proximity networks that reveal both SCF-dependent and noncanonical roles in ABA signaling and drought adaptation. Our work maps how ASK1/SKP1 protein interaction networks are rewired during stress, uncovering new layers of regulatory flexibility in…
Congratulations to the Shabek Lab, and especially to our collaborators with Katie Dehesh’s group (UC Riverside), for contributing to an exciting new study!The work, “Bimodal retrograde signaling disrupts a suppressor network and activates a key transcriptional activator to direct stress responses,” uncovers how the plastidial metabolite MEcPP orchestrates stress-responsive gene expression. By dismantling suppressors (HAT1,…
🌟 We are excited to share that Edgar Cortes, incoming PBGG Master’s student in the Shabek Lab, has been awarded support through the NSF BEST (Bioindustrial Engineering for a Sustainable Tomorrow) training program. As part of this NSF-funded initiative, Edgar will receive fellowship support while pursuing his Master’s research in our lab. Congratulations, Edgar ,…