Studying the gut virome in the metagenomic era: challenges and perspectives

The human gut harbors a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. With the rise of next-generation sequencing technologies, we have seen a quantum leap in the study of human-gut-inhabiting bacteria, yet the viruses that infect these bacteria, known as bacteriophages, remai...

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Published inBMC biology Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 84 - 14
Main Authors Garmaeva, Sanzhima, Sinha, Trishla, Kurilshikov, Alexander, Fu, Jingyuan, Wijmenga, Cisca, Zhernakova, Alexandra
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England BioMed Central Ltd 28.10.2019
BioMed Central
BMC
Subjects
Bacteria
Bacteriophages
Bacteriophages - physiology
Ecosystems
Gastrointestinal Microbiome - physiology
High-throughput screening (Biochemical assaying)
Humans
Hydrothermal systems (Geology)
Influenza
Influenza viruses
Metagenome
Metagenomics
Microbiota (Symbiotic organisms)
Microorganisms
Oceans
Review
Technology
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Summary:The human gut harbors a complex ecosystem of microorganisms, including bacteria and viruses. With the rise of next-generation sequencing technologies, we have seen a quantum leap in the study of human-gut-inhabiting bacteria, yet the viruses that infect these bacteria, known as bacteriophages, remain underexplored. In this review, we focus on what is known about the role of bacteriophages in human health and the technical challenges involved in studying the gut virome, of which they are a major component. Lastly, we discuss what can be learned from studies of bacteriophages in other ecosystems.
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ISSN:1741-7007
1741-7007
DOI:10.1186/s12915-019-0704-y