Advances in next-generation sequencing technologies and the application of metagenomic approaches have fuelled an exponential increase in our understanding of the human gut microbiome. These approaches are now also illuminating features of the diverse and abundant collection of viruses (termed the virome) subsisting with the microbial ecosystems residing within the human holobiont. Here, we focus on the current and emerging knowledge of the human gut virome, in particular on viruses infecting bacteria (bacteriophage or phage), which are a dominant component of this viral community. We summarise current insights regarding the form and function of this ‘human gut phageome’ and highlight promising avenues for future research. In doing so, we discuss the potential for phage to drive ecological functioning and evolutionary change within this important microbial ecosystem, their contribution to modulation of host–microbiome interactions and stability of the community as a whole, as well as the potential role of the phageome in human health and disease. We also consider the emerging concepts of a ‘core healthy gut phageome’ and the putative existence of ‘viral enterotypes’ and ‘viral dysbiosis’.
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November 2017
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A representation of the intestinal microflora. There is growing interest in the role of the gut microbiome in human health and disease, and this issue of Emerging Topics in Life Sciences includes reviews that focus on microbiome–host interactions and host health (Basson and Wijeyesekera, pages 325–332), the role of the gut bacterium Bifidobacterium in modulating immune-linked diseases (O'Neill et al., pages 333–349) and the gut virome in humans (Ogilvie and Jones, pages 351–362).
Review Article|
November 30 2017
The human gut virome: form and function Available to Purchase
Lesley A. Ogilvie;
1School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, U.K.
Correspondence: Lesley A. Ogilvie ([email protected]) or Brian V. Jones ([email protected])
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Brian V. Jones
1School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, University of Brighton, Brighton BN2 4GJ, U.K.
Correspondence: Lesley A. Ogilvie ([email protected]) or Brian V. Jones ([email protected])
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
August 07 2017
Revision Received:
October 18 2017
Accepted:
October 20 2017
Online ISSN: 2397-8562
Print ISSN: 2397-8554
© 2017 The Author(s). Published by Portland Press Limited on behalf of the Biochemical Society and the Royal Society of Biology
2017
Emerg Top Life Sci (2017) 1 (4): 351–362.
Article history
Received:
August 07 2017
Revision Received:
October 18 2017
Accepted:
October 20 2017
Citation
Julian R. Marchesi, Lesley A. Ogilvie, Brian V. Jones; The human gut virome: form and function. Emerg Top Life Sci 30 November 2017; 1 (4): 351–362. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/ETLS20170039
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