Hop Stunt Viroid Expression and Host Responses in Arabidopsis thaliana.

ABSTRACT: Arabidopsis thaliana serves as an appealing model for viroid research, though prior infection trials have largely failed. Previous studies have shown that mature circular RNAs of certain viroids can be synthesised in A. thaliana via transgenic methods. Here, we confirm this by introducing a transgene encoding the dimeric cDNA of hop stunt viroid (HSVd) genome and explore the potential of HSVd-expressing transgenic A. thaliana in viroid research. Mature HSVd circular genome RNA was detected in transgenic plants but accumulated to relatively low levels. Small RNA (sRNA) sequencing revealed minimal production of HSVd-derived sRNAs, suggesting inefficient replication. This finding highlights the importance of double-stranded replication intermediates as the primary source of viroid sRNAs. More

SUBMITTER: Tian X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11950631 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature