Cannabis sativa L. is an annual flowering plant that has been used for centuries. Nowadays, it is primarily utilized for its fibers, seeds, and secondary metabolites. Global cannabis production faces a threat from the viroid HLVd, which originated from the hop plant. Viroids are small circular RNA molecules that are transmitted mechanically. They cause various visible and invisible symptoms in some plant species. The main effect caused by HLVd on cannabis is a reduction in yield and in both cannabinoids, CBD and THC. This condition is known as "dudding disease" and is observed in some cannabis genotypes. Hop plants are also affected by CBCVd. Both viroids, CBCVd and HLVd, belong to the family Pospiviroidae. Cannabis and hop plants are both members of the Cannabaceae family. Therefore, we prepared an experiment to determine if CBCVd can also infect cannabis. In the presented study, we grew samples under in vitro conditions, which proved to be suitable for these analyses. They were artificially inoculated with viroid transcripts and viroid RNA isolated from infected plants. We then tested the plant material using the RT-PCR method and agarose gel electrophoresis. Afterward, some plants were acclimatized, allowing us to observe various symptoms on infected plants.
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