Viroid-like elements are pieces of covalently closed circular (ccc) RNA molecules that do not share the viroid's lifecycle. The category encompasses satellite RNAs (including small plant satRNAs …

Viroids are a unique type of infectious agent, exclusively composed of a relatively small (246–430 nt), highly base-paired, circular, non-coding RNA.

Viroid, an infectious particle smaller than any of the known viruses, an agent of certain plant diseases. The particle consists only of an extremely small circular RNA (ribonucleic acid) molecule, lacking the …

Aug 5, 2025 · A viroid is an infectious particle composed solely of a single-stranded, circular RNA molecule. Unlike viruses, viroids lack a protective protein coat, known as a capsid, making them the …

Nov 4, 2025 · Viroids primarily cause devastating diseases in plants by hijacking the host cell’s internal machinery to replicate. Their simple composition has made them a subject of intense scientific study, …

In 1971, Theodor Diener, a pathologist working at the Agriculture Research Service, discovered an acellular particle that he named a viroid, meaning “virus-like.” Viroids consist only of a short strand of …

Viroids are small, single-stranded, circular RNAs that can infect plants and cause specific diseases, even though they do not have the ability to code for proteins. They belong to the taxonomic families …

Jun 27, 2024 · The term “viroid” is used to describe circular noncoding RNAs of exogenous origin that replicate autonomously in host cells via RNA–RNA rolling circle mechanisms without DNA templates …

Jul 23, 2025 · Viroid is an infectious particle that causes plant diseases. Viroids differ from viruses in having a single-stranded RNA as genetic material and lacking a protein coat.

Apr 14, 2024 · Viroids Definition In 1971, a plant pathologist named Theodor Otto Diener first discovered the Viroids. He found an acellular particle when he was working in an Agriculture Research Service …