The study introduces a novel class of viroid-like RNA elements, termed "Obelisks," found in the human gut microbiome (hGMB). These elements are characterized by their circular genome structure, rod-like secondary structure, and the presence of a protein-coding region that encodes for proteins called Oblins. Obelisks are distinct from known viroids and HDV family members, and their distribution is not limited to plants. The researchers developed a bioinformatic tool, VNom, to identify these elements in public sequencing datasets. Using this tool, they identified 29,959 distinct Obelisks across 220,000 datasets from diverse ecosystems, including the hGMB. A subset of Obelisks contains hammerhead ribozyme motifs, suggesting a viroid-like replication mechanism. The study also identified a specific host-agent pairing, with *Streptococcus sanguinis* acting as a replicative host for a subset of Obelisks. Obelisks are prevalent in human gut and oral microbiomes, with an estimated prevalence of ~9.7% among 472 donors. The findings suggest that Obelisks may play a significant role in the human microbiome and could have implications for human health.The study introduces a novel class of viroid-like RNA elements, termed "Obelisks," found in the human gut microbiome (hGMB). These elements are characterized by their circular genome structure, rod-like secondary structure, and the presence of a protein-coding region that encodes for proteins called Oblins. Obelisks are distinct from known viroids and HDV family members, and their distribution is not limited to plants. The researchers developed a bioinformatic tool, VNom, to identify these elements in public sequencing datasets. Using this tool, they identified 29,959 distinct Obelisks across 220,000 datasets from diverse ecosystems, including the hGMB. A subset of Obelisks contains hammerhead ribozyme motifs, suggesting a viroid-like replication mechanism. The study also identified a specific host-agent pairing, with *Streptococcus sanguinis* acting as a replicative host for a subset of Obelisks. Obelisks are prevalent in human gut and oral microbiomes, with an estimated prevalence of ~9.7% among 472 donors. The findings suggest that Obelisks may play a significant role in the human microbiome and could have implications for human health.