title: Survey and analysis of simple sequence repeats (SSRs) present in the genomes of plant viroids.
abstract: Extensive simple sequence repeat (SSR) surveys have been performed for eukaryotic prokaryotic and viral genomes, but information regarding SSRs in viroids is limited. We undertook a survey to examine the presence of SSRs in viroid genomes. Our results show that the distribution of SSRs in viroids may influence secondary structure, and that SSRs could play a role in generating genetic diversity. We also discuss the potential evolutionary role of repeated sequences in the viroid genome. This is the first report of SSR loci in viroids, and our study could be helpful in understanding the structure and evolution of viroid genomes.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China ; College of Biology, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
authors.forename: Lü
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Zhixiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Biology, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
authors.forename: Xiangyan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: College of Biology, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Computational Biology, Beijing Computing Center, Yongfeng Industry Base, Beijing 100094, China.
authors.forename: Yubao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China ; College of Biology, State Key Laboratory for Chemo/Biosensing and Chemometrics, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China.
authors.forename: Zhongyang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Shifang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: ASSVd, Apple scar skin viroid; CCCVd, Coconut cadang-cadang viroid; CEVd, citrus exocortis viroid; CTiVd, Coconut tinangaja viroid; CbVd-1, Coleus blumei viroid 1; HSVd, Hop stunt viroid; IrVd-1, Iresine viroid 1; Microsatellites; PSTVd, Potato spindle tuber viroid; SSR, simple sequence repeat; Simple sequence repeats; Viroid