Scientists have created the first intestinal virus database to identify more than 33,000 unique virus populations.

Ohio State University have created the first known directory of virus populations in the human gut, known as the enterovirus database. The study shows that each person's enterovirus population is as unique as their fingerprints.gut microbiome has been the main focus of research over the past few years, as trillions of microbes living in the digestive system have been found to play a key role in maintaining human health. The vast majority of these organisms in our gut are bacteria, but the gut microbiome is not just a large number of bacteria, it also includes parasites, fungi and viruses.it is not easy to catalog the "residents" of these other microbiomes. Unlike bacteria, viruses lack any common genomic markers. In fact, anywhere from 40 to 90 percent of viral genome sequences are called "viral dark matter," which means they are not aligned with any known reference virus sequences., the researchers' first step was to compile data from dozens of previous studies to study viruses in the human gut. The final data set covers nearly 2,000 people across 16 countries."We use machine learning for known viruses to help us identify unknown viruses," explains Ann Gregory, lead author of the study. "We're interested in how many types of viruses we can see in the gut, and we determine by how many types of genomes we can see, because we can't see viruses visually."the study eventually cataloged 33,242 unique virus populations and established a new, open source reference resource called the enterovirus database.to establish the effectiveness of the new database, the researchers looked for patterns in the data. They initially found that the diversity of in-intestinal virus groups (the collection of viruses) increased with age, but appeared to decrease after age 65. This pattern is similar to the age-related diversity pattern seen in intestinal bacterial populations, with one notable exception. There appears to be significant virus diversity in the intestines of infants with dysfunctional immune systems, but bacterial diversity is limited."the general rule of thumb in ecology is that greater diversity leads to healthier ecosystems," Gregory said. "We know that more diversity of viruses and microorganisms is often associated with healthier individuals. And we see that healthier individuals tend to have higher virus diversity, suggesting that these viruses may be potentially doing something positive and have beneficial effects. Anotherfinding of this new study is that the vast majority of the viruses that are cataloged are phages. These viruses, also known as bacterial phages, are unusually common viruses that attach to bacteria and replicate within them.Matthew Sullivan, senior author of the study, said there was a symbic relationship between phages and bacteria in the gut microbiome, and said the new intestinal virus database would be an important tool for any researcher planning treatments based on regulating the gut microbiome."Phages are part of a vast network of organisms that live with us and live on us, and when broad-spectrum antibiotics are used to fight infections, they can also harm our natural microbiome," Sullivan explains. "We are building a toolkit to expand our understanding and capabilities to use phages to re-adjust the disturbed microbiome back to health."study adds another complex layer to the gut microbiome. It's unclear how these viruses may affect overall human health, but the researchers note that the study reveals that no core group of viruses is common to all human guts.fact, the diversity of enterovirus groups is such that each individual virus group may be as unique as their fingerprints. Oliver Zablocki, co-author of the study, said the new database is the first step in studying whether enterovirus cause human disease, or whether they are only affected by disease.think it's a chicken and egg problem," Zablocki said. "We see disease, we see community structures. Is it the disease that occurs in this community structure, or is it the disease that causes the community structure we see? This standardized data set will enable us to pursue these issues. Thethe new study, published in the journal Cell Hosts and Microbes.
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