“…However, the satellite sequences could exist in the plant genome in fragments, which, under appropriate conditions are brought together. Although many laboratories have reported the "spontaneous" appearance of satellites in experimental plants (25,51,57,99,115,123,147,155,157,164,183,195,197), most of these could be accounted for either by very low levels of satellites already existing in virus isolates, which are amplified under the appropriate conditions (i.e., experimental conditions), or by contamination of experimental plants with satellite. In one study of CMV satellite RNAs, the satellite RNA molecules were shown to be stable on tobacco plants for 25 days in the absence of helper virus (88).…”