Eggplant Latent Viroid: a Friendly Experimental System in the Family Avsunviroidae

Overview

Journal Mol Plant Pathol

Specialty Molecular Biology

Date 2015 Dec 24

PMID 26696449

Citations 12

Authors

Jose-Antonio Daros

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Taxonomy: Eggplant latent viroid (ELVd) is the only species of the genus Elaviroid (family Avsunviroidae). All the viroids in the family Avsunviroidae contain hammerhead ribozymes in the strands of both polarities, and are considered to replicate in the chloroplasts of infected cells. This family includes two other genera: Avsunviroid and Pelamoviroid.

Physical Properties: ELVd consists of a single-stranded, circular, non-coding RNA of 332-335 nucleotides that folds in a branched quasi-rod-like minimum free-energy conformation. RNAs of complementary polarity exist in infected cells and are considered to be replication intermediates. Plus (+) polarity is assigned arbitrarily to the strand that accumulates at a higher concentration in infected tissues. HOST: To date, ELVd has only been shown to infect eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), the species in which it was discovered. A very narrow host range seems to be a common property in members of the family Avsunviroidae.

Symptoms: ELVd infections of eggplants are apparently symptomless.

Transmission: ELVd is transmitted mechanically and by seed.

Useful Website: http://subviral.med.uottawa.ca.

Citing Articles

Five things to consider before proposing that a circular RNA is a viroid.

Wu J, Bisaro D PLoS Pathog. 2025; 21(3):e1012958.

PMID: 40053519 PMC: 11888127. DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012958.

Eggplant latent viroid is located in the chloroplasts and nuclei of eggplant infected cells.

Eiras M, Aragones V, Marques J, Gomez M, Daros J Virol J. 2024; 21(1):254.

PMID: 39407314 PMC: 11476940. DOI: 10.1186/s12985-024-02530-8.

Viroids: Non-Coding Circular RNAs Able to Autonomously Replicate and Infect Higher Plants.

Ortola B, Daros J Biology (Basel). 2023; 12(2).

PMID: 36829451 PMC: 9952643. DOI: 10.3390/biology12020172.

A circular RNA vector for targeted plant gene silencing based on an asymptomatic viroid.

Marquez-Molins J, Hernandez-Azurdia A, Urrutia-Perez M, Pallas V, Gomez G Plant J. 2022; 112(1):284-293.

PMID: 35916236 PMC: 9804161. DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15929.

Emerging value of the viroid model in molecular biology and beyond.

Ma J, Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage S, Wang Y Virus Res. 2022; 313:198730.

PMID: 35263622 PMC: 8976779. DOI: 10.1016/j.virusres.2022.198730.

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