Year: 2018
Type: article
Abstract: For over three centuries, there has been rising interest in and fascination with the complex consortium of microbes that associate with animals, plants, and other environmental ecosystems, collectively termed the microbiome.Within the last half century, following the advent of culture-independent methods for the surveillance of microbial communities, the microbiome has been studied in unprecedented detail.As a result, it has become increasingly clear that resident microbes are integral to health and disease.The average human is colonized with over 10 trillion bacteria, which have largely been the focus of host-microbiota research.Aside from bacteria, there are staggering numbers of bacterial viruses known as bacteriophages (phages) that inhabit mammalian microbiotas.Most bacteria harbor one or more phage in their chromosome(s) as quiescent prophage capable of undergoing lytic replication to produce infectious virions.It is not surprising that these viruses are also majority members of the microbiota and may even exceed bacteria in abundance.Phages make up a significant component of diverse microbiomes ranging from mammals, plants, soil, and the ocean [1][2][3][4].These environments are being studied to determine how phages contribute to the assembly, stability, and function of microbial communities.An emerging topic related to the study of phages in host-associated microbiotas is their potential role in mammalian health and disease.Here, I review our current understanding of phages within the context of the mammalian microbiota, discuss how these viruses influence hostmicrobe interactions, and explore how deciphering phage influence on complex microbial communities could inform the future of microbiota research related to human health and disease.
Source: PLoS Pathogens
Author: Breck A. Duerkop
Institution: University of Colorado Anschutz
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,043
OpenAlex ID: W2898236560