Viroids differ from viruses in having

Options

A. Satellite RNA packaged with viral genome
B. Naked DNA molecules
C. Naked RNA molecules only
D. Naked DNA packaged with viral genome

Answer

**Step-by-Step Solution:**

1. **Understanding Viroids and Viruses**:
- Begin by recognizing the basic structure of viruses. Viruses typically consist of a protein coat (capsid) surrounding nucleic acid, which can be either DNA or RNA, and can be single-stranded or double-stranded.
- In contrast, viroids are much simpler entities that primarily affect plants.

2. **Characteristics of Viroids**:
- Viroids were discovered by Theodor O. Diener and are known to infect plants, causing diseases such as potato spindle tuber disease.
- Unlike viruses, viroids do not have a protein coat. They consist solely of a small, circular strand of RNA.

3. **Comparison of Size**:
- Viroids are significantly smaller than viruses. Their RNA is of low molecular weight, which contributes to their smaller size.

4. **Identifying the Key Difference**:
- The main distinguishing feature of viroids compared to viruses is that viroids consist only of naked RNA without any protein coat, whereas viruses have both nucleic acid and a protein coat.

5. **Evaluating the Options**:
- Given the options provided in the question, the correct answer is that viroids have "naked RNA molecules only." This aligns with the understanding that viroids lack a protein coat.

6. **Conclusion**:
- Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that viroids differ from viruses in having naked RNA molecules only.

**Final Answer**: Viroids differ from viruses in having naked RNA molecules only.

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