Viroids: Possibly the Smallest Pathogens on Earth
Potato spindle tuber disease wasn't a life-or-death situation, but it led to the discovery of viroids: infectious, replicating bits of RNA Hosted by: Michael Aranda ---------- Support SciShow...
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♪ INTRO ♪ In 1971, a USDA plant scientist named Theodor Otto Diener discovered what could be the smallest pathogen on the planet. It was unlike anything biologists had ever seen: it could make copies of itself, like a virus, but was much, much simpler. It didn’t have any kind of outer protein coating, and just a tiny bit of RNA. At the time, scientists didn't think something like this could even exist. But these pathogens, called viroids, were very real. They infected potatoes, turning them into gnarly twists that looked more like ginger than something you’d top with sour cream. And researchers eventually realized that they might be a clue to how life got started on Earth. As far as plant diseases go, potato spindle tuber disease wasn’t a ...
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♪ INTRO ♪ In 1971, a USDA plant scientist named Theodor Otto Diener discovered what could be the smallest pathogen on the planet. It was unlike anything biologists had ever seen: it could make copies of itself, like a virus, but was much, much simpler. It didn’t have any kind of outer protein coating, and just a tiny bit of RNA. At the time, scientists didn't think something like this could even exist. But these pathogens, called viroids, were very real. They infected potatoes, turning them into gnarly twists that looked more like ginger than something you’d top with sour cream. And researchers eventually realized that they might be a clue to how life got started on Earth. As far as plant diseases go, potato spindle tuber disease wasn’t a ...
