Dr. Yet-Ran Chen is a scholar whose research spans mass spectrometry, analytical chemistry, and plant immunology. His work focuses on how plants convert local pathogen perception into defense responses across cells, tissues, and the whole organism. By integrating mass spectrometry-based omics with molecular biology, chemical biology, informatics, and genetics, his research aims to discover hidden endogenous immune signals and decode the spatiotemporal regulation of plant defense.
The Chen laboratory investigates how plants initiate, amplify, and coordinate immune responses in response to pathogen attack and environmental change. Using MS-based multi-omics exploration and molecular biological validation, the laboratory identifies low-abundance, transient immune signaling molecules and examines how peptide, metabolite, and receptor networks regulate local defense,
stomatal immunity, and systemic disease resistance. A representative discovery is that the classical immune marker PR1 can be converted into bioactive CAPE peptide signals, with CAPE production serving as a key downstream step in pathogen- and salicylic acid-induced systemic immunity. Through these efforts, the Chen laboratory seeks to deepen understanding of plant immune operation and advance crop defense resilience and sustainable agriculture.