Practice question
Question
In 1971, T.O. Diener discovered a novel infectious agent that lacked a protein coat and caused potato spindle tuber disease. It was named a:
Explanation
The NCERT textbook highlights a critical discovery by 'T.O. Diener in 1971'. He isolated a completely new type of infectious agent that was significantly smaller than a standard virus. It uniquely caused 'potato spindle tuber disease'. Because this agent consisted solely of free, naked RNA and completely lacked the standard protective protein coat (capsid) found in viruses, Diener appropriately named it a 'viroid'.
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