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Viroid-like RNAs Associated with Burdock Stunt Disease

¹ Institute of Microbiology, Academia Sinica, Beijing
² Institute of Nateria Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing
and³ Wuhan Institute of Virology, Academia Sinica, Wuhan, China

The burdocks, Arctium tomentosum and A. lappa, are afflicted with burdock stunt disease (BSD). Neither virus-like particles nor mycoplasma-like organisms have been detected in the extracts and thin sections of diseased leaves, but two disease-specific RNA species, RNA-1 and RNA-2, were found to be associated with BSD. They had a low molecular weight (RNA-1, 1·8 x 10⁵ to 1·9 x 10⁵; RNA-2, 1·7 x 10⁵) estimated by analytical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Preparations of RNA-1 and RNA-2 contained circular molecular structures as shown by electron microscopy. We conclude that BSD RNA-1 and RNA-2 are viroid-like and that BSD may be a disease of viroid aetiology.

Keywords: burdock stunt disease, viroid-like RNAs

Received 11 January 1982; accepted 12 August 1982.