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Review
. 2019 Mar 25:12:1756284819836620.
doi: 10.1177/1756284819836620. eCollection 2019.

The gut virome: the 'missing link' between gut bacteria and host immunity?

Indrani Mukhopadhya  1 , Jonathan P Segal  2 , Simon R Carding  3 , Ailsa L Hart  2 , Georgina L Hold  4
Affiliations
Review

The gut virome: the 'missing link' between gut bacteria and host immunity?

Indrani Mukhopadhya et al. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

The human gut virome includes a diverse collection of viruses that infect our own cells as well as other commensal organisms, directly impacting on our well-being. Despite its predominance, the virome remains one of the least understood components of the gut microbiota, with appropriate analysis toolkits still in development. Based on its interconnectivity with all living cells, it is clear that the virome cannot be studied in isolation. Here we review the current understanding of the human gut virome, specifically in relation to other constituents of the microbiome, its evolution and life-long association with its host, and our current understanding in the context of inflammatory bowel disease and associated therapies. We propose that the gut virome and the gut bacterial microbiome share similar trajectories and interact in both health and disease and that future microbiota studies should in parallel characterize the gut virome to uncover its role in health and disease.

Keywords: gut microbiota; gut virome; host:microbiota interactions; inflammatory bowel disease; microbial dynamics; microbial therapeutics.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest in preparing this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proposed mechanisms of phage-driven intestinal dysbiosis. In the ‘Kill the Winner’ model, phages target and kill dominant commensal bacteria that are usually growing the fastest, thus reducing their numbers in the GI tract. In the ‘Biological Weapon’ model, commensal bacteria use the phages they carry as weapons to kill competing bacteria, causing a decrease in bacteria, leading to dysbiosis. The ‘Community Shuffling’ model proposes that environmental stressors such as antibiotic therapy, oxidative stress or inflammation can trigger the introduction of prophage into bacteria, resulting in lytic infection of symbiotic bacteria, altering the relationship between symbionts and pathobionts. The ‘Emerging new bacterial strain’ model suggests the potential to increase virulence through acquisition of genetic material – in effect establishing lysogeny in the host rather than inducing lysis.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Schematic representation of the alteration of the enteric virome and bacteriome in inflammatory bowel disease. There is an expansion of bacteriophages with increased richness of the gut virome and an associated decrease in richness and diversity of the gut bacteria leading to ‘microbial dysbiosis’, which could be the trigger for chronic inflammation in IBD. Alteration of the viral–bacterial dynamics may also lead to increased bacterial lysis and release of microbe-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs) that could attract inflammatory cells in the lamina propria. The luminal changes could also be an ‘epiphenomenon’ as a result of the inflammatory cascade.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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