Viroid
Viroids are the smallest infectious pathogens known. They consist solely of short strands of circular, single-stranded RNA without protein coats. They are mostly plant pathogens (plant diseases), some of which can cause crop loss.[1]
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Virus classification 
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| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Viroid |
Viroid genomes are extremely small in size. They are about 80 times smaller than the smallest virus.[2] The human pathogen (causes diseases in humans) hepatitis D virus is a defective RNA virus[3] similar to viroids.[4]
Viroids were the first "sub-viral pathogens" discovered and named by Theodor Otto Diener. He was a plant pathologist at the U.S Department of Agriculture's Research Center in Beltsville, Maryland, in 1971.[5][6] The first viroid to be identified was the Potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd). About 33 species have been identified.
Viroid Media
The reproduction mechanism of a typical viroid. Leaf contact transmits the viroid. The viroid enters the cell via its plasmodesmata. RNA polymerase II catalyzes rolling-circle synthesis of new viroids.
Related pages
- Obelisk (biology), a viroid-like structure found in humans.
References
- ↑ Hammond, Rosemarie W. ; Owens, Robert A.. Viroids: new and continuing risks for horticultural and agricultural cropsThe American Phytopathological Society. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
- ↑ Dasgupta M.K. Principles of Plant Pathology (New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1988), p. 132
- ↑ A defective virus cannot make copies of itself outside of a living host cell
- ↑ Hepatitis delta virus: a peculiar virus. Adv Virol 2013 (2013). p. 560105. doi:10.1155/2013/560105.
- ↑ Potato spindle tuber "virus". IV. A replicating, low molecular weight RNA. Virology 45 (2) (August 1971). p. 411–28. doi:10.1016/0042-6822(71)90342-4.
- ↑ ARS Research Timeline – Tracking the Elusive Viroid (2006-03-02). Retrieved 2007-07-18.
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