The transcription factors such as the C2H2 zinc finger, bZIP (basic domain/leucine zipper), WRKY, AP2 (APETALA2)/ERF (ethylene-responsive factor), NAM/ATAF/CUC(NAC), MYB, MYC and bHLH (basic helix–loop–helix), were significantly altered after viroid infection in plants (Wiesyk et al., 2018). Here, STAC3 is linked to infection.