Jan 24, 2025
Viroids are some of the most unusual biological infectious
agents because they consist of only very small circular RNA
molecules. They are too small to encode proteins, yet they
are resilient and cause disease in a variety of agriculturally
important plants, including cannabis, the sixth largest cash crop
in the U.S.
Dr. Zamir Punja is a Professor of Plant Biotechnology at Simon
Frasier University, whose laboratory studies the cannabis viroid,
which he refers to as the “COVID of cannabis”. Dr. Punja
describes how viroids only infect plants, how a viroid stunts the
growth and potency of cannabis plants, where viroids may have come
from, why agricultural practices may enhance the spread of the
cannabis viroid, how “beneficial” biological approaches may protect
cannabis from infectious agents, and how the beautiful environment
of Vancouver promotes good science.
Dr. Vince Young joined microTalk on this episode, which was
supported by Gordo Sheepsay’s My Dope Microscope.
Participants:
- Karl Klose, Ph.D. (UTSA)
- Zamir Punja, Ph.D. (Simon Frasier University)
- Vincent Young, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Michigan)
- Janakiram Seshu, Ph.D. (UTSA)