Kriton Kalantidis

Seminal findings in recent years have prompted a shift from the traditional view of RNA as an auxiliary nucleic acid to the centre of regulation of cellular and systemic processes. The discovery of RNA silencing pathways and their cognate small RNA species such as miRNAs and siRNAs had a major impact on the way we view cellular processes in modern biology. Our group is interested in RNA mediated phenomena both in gene regulation and as a defense mechanism against aberrant RNA. Although we ask questions mainly concerning plant systems the conservation of RNA silencing pathways across eucaryots has allowed us to engage in fruitful collaborations studying related phenomena is other models such as Drosophila and mammalian cell lines. It has now become clear that RNA silencing especially in plants, plays also an important role in antiviral defense. We are particularly interested in this RNA mediated pathway and its role in plants response to viral and viroid infections. Amongst our goals is the understanding of mechanisms of specific silencing phenomena including the effect of endogenous and exogenous factors on the efficiency of silencing and the defense to viruses and viroids. In addition, we are interested in potential applications of our findings.