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Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Large-scale Production of Recombinant RNAs on a Circular Scaffold Using a Viroid-derived System in Escherichia coli
Published on: November 30, 2018
A viroid RNA with a specific structural motif inhibits chloroplast development
Maria-Elena Rodio1, Sonia Delgado, Angelo De Stradis
1Dipartimento di Protezione delle Piante e Microbiologia Applicata, Università degli Studi and Istituto di Virologia Vegetale del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Sezione di Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) variant PC-C40 causes peach calico, an albino-variegated phenotype, by impairing chloroplast development and rRNA maturation. This viroid highlights RNA
Area of Science:
- Plant Pathology
- Molecular Biology
- Virology
Background:
- Peach latent mosaic viroid (PLMVd) exists as variants in peach plants (Prunus persica).
- Variant PC-C40 possesses a unique insertion causing peach calico (PC), an albino-variegated phenotype.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of PLMVd variant PC-C40.
- To understand how this viroid affects chloroplast development and plant phenotype.
Main Methods:
- Ultrastructural, biochemical, and molecular analyses were employed.
- Techniques included protein gel blot, RT-PCR, RNA gel blot, and in situ hybridization.
Main Results:
- Albino sectors showed undifferentiated palisade cells and abnormal plastids resembling proplastids.
- Impaired plastid rRNA processing and translation machinery were observed in albino sectors.
- PLMVd replicates in albino sectors, invades the shoot apical meristem, and bypasses RNA surveillance.
Conclusions:
- Non-protein-coding RNA with specific structures can disrupt chloroplast development.
- PLMVd variant PC-C40 interferes with early chloroplast development, causing variegation.
- Viroids offer insights into RNA trafficking, pathogenesis, and chloroplast biology in plants.
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