Sarris Panagiotis

Sarris Panagiotis is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biotechnology and Applied Biology at the University of Crete, where he conducts research at the intersection of plant-microbe interactions and molecular immunology. His work focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant immune responses to bacterial pathogens, with particular emphasis on effector-triggered immunity and host-pathogen coevolution.

His primary research interests include Molecular Microbiology, Molecular Pathogen-Host Interactions, Microbiomes analysis, Molecular Immunology of plant organisms, Molecular bacteriology, and Plants and microbes genomic sequencing annotation and analysis. His laboratory investigates how plant immune receptors recognize pathogen effectors and how these interactions shape plant defense responses.

Dr. Sarris's publication record demonstrates a strong focus on plant immune receptor architecture, particularly NLR (Nucleotide-binding Leucine-rich Repeat) receptors, and their role in recognizing bacterial effectors. His work spans structural biology, molecular genetics, and functional genomics approaches to dissect plant-pathogen interactions. Recent publications highlight his contributions to understanding how bacterial effectors target host cellular machinery and how plants have evolved countermeasures to detect these virulence strategies.

His research has significant implications for developing novel strategies for crop protection against bacterial diseases. The laboratory employs a multidisciplinary approach combining molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics, and advanced imaging techniques to investigate plant immune mechanisms.