Most viruses that infect plants possess

Viruses are microscopic, acellular entities that multiply only inside a living host [2]. While viruses can possess various types of genetic material, including single-stranded (ss) or double-stranded (ds) DNA or RNA, plant viruses exhibit a distinct distribution. The vast majority of viruses that infect plants possess an RNA genome, which is typically small and single-stranded [4]. Specifically, approximately 75% of known plant viruses are characterized by single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) [2]. Most of these are positive-sense ssRNA viruses, which can serve directly as messenger RNA (mRNA) for protein synthesis [2]. In contrast, plant DNA viruses are notably rare compared to those found in animals or bacteria [5]. While some plant viruses utilize dsRNA, ssDNA (like geminiviruses), or dsDNA (like caulimoviruses), the predominant genomic configuration remains single-stranded RNA [5].

Sources

1. [1] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: The Invisible Living World: Beyond Our Naked Eye > Ever heard of ... > p. 17
2. [2] Science ,Class VIII . NCERT(Revised ed 2025) > Chapter 2: The Invisible Living World: Beyond Our Naked Eye > Snapshots > p. 24
3. [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_virus
4. [5] https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/dna-plant-virus