Version 1
: Received: 3 January 2023 / Approved: 5 January 2023 / Online: 5 January 2023 (01:26:04 CET)
How to cite:
Popovic, M. Simple but Powerful: Viroids can Hijack their Host Cells’ Metabolism due to Greater Gibbs Energy Dissipation. Preprints2023, 2023010085. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0085.v1
Popovic, M. Simple but Powerful: Viroids can Hijack their Host Cells’ Metabolism due to Greater Gibbs Energy Dissipation. Preprints 2023, 2023010085. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0085.v1
Popovic, M. Simple but Powerful: Viroids can Hijack their Host Cells’ Metabolism due to Greater Gibbs Energy Dissipation. Preprints2023, 2023010085. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0085.v1
APA Style
Popovic, M. (2023). Simple but Powerful: Viroids can Hijack their Host Cells’ Metabolism due to Greater Gibbs Energy Dissipation. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0085.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Popovic, M. 2023 "Simple but Powerful: Viroids can Hijack their Host Cells’ Metabolism due to Greater Gibbs Energy Dissipation" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202301.0085.v1
Abstract
Viroids represent the simplest, but are also among the most interesting life-like forms. They represent a great problem in agriculture. Moreover, pathogens similar to viroids, such as the hepatitis Delta virus represent a risk for human health. Viroids encode no proteins, but are still able to hijack their host cells’ metabolism to perform multiplication. This paper attempts to reply three questions about viroids. First, how can viroids hijack their host cells’ metabolism, even though they encode no proteins to achieve this? Second, what advantages do viroids have from their simplicity? Third, what can viroids, as the simplest life-like forms, tell us about life as a natural phenomenon? These questions are discussed from the perspective of biothermodynamics. In order to do this, elemental composition, biosynthesis reactions and standard thermodynamic properties of viroids have been determined and analyzed.
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
