A study on the diversity and distribution of human gut phages
Recently, there is a growing focus on bacteriophages living in the gut ecosystem in order to study the effect of the composition and function of gut microbiome on human health. In February 2021, the latest study by Camarillo-Guerrero and his research team has been published in the journal Cell. The team compiled high-quality gut bacteriophage genomes into the Gut Phage Database (GPD) and analyzed the diversity and worldwide distribution of phage. iNtRON Bio will review this study and use it as a reference for Phageome business.
Existing phage genome studies
The first metagenomics studies showed that the majority (81%~93%) of the gut phage diversity is novel. These early studies found p-crAss phages present in more than 50% of western human gut microbiomes. Previous studies have focused on bulk viral fragments with limited resolution to characterize individual phage genomes or link specific phages to a bacterial host species. However, recent studies have mined to compile a more comprehensive list of gut phage genomes, providing new fundamental insight into the viral diversity and functions present in the human gut microbiome.
Gut Phage Database (GPD)
Camarillo-Guerrero and his research team collected over 28,000 human gut metagenomes from 28 countries spanning 6 continents and constructed Gut Phage Database (GPD) by compiling 142,809 non-redundant phage genomes. In other words, more than 142,000 different viruses live in the human gut.
(Source: Camarillo-Guerrero et al., 2021, Cell184, 1098–1109February 18. Published by Elsevier Inc.)
The GPD includes over 40,000 high-quality genomes with a median size of 47.68 kb, so it is expected to be used to gain insight into the biology, host range, and global epidemiology of human gut phages. The team uncovered 280 globally distributed viral clusters, including 1 viral clade (Guba phage), the second most prevalent phage group after p-crAss phage. Given the high quality of the reference genomes, the database size, and the sequence diversity harbored by the GPD, this resource will greatly improve the analysis of individual human gut bacteriophages.
iNtRON Bio and Microbiome
As a global leading company in bacteriophage and endolysin technology, iNtRON Bio is developing new drug candidates that can control and treat the human gut microbiome based on bacteriophages. iNtRON Bio has secured more than 500 phages in Bacteriophage Resource Bank (BRB) and continuously accumulated related data through analysis of the functions, roles, and characteristics of bacteriophages. iNtRON Bio will continue to secure new bacteriophages and construct a phage database to become a global leader in a microbiome-related field using bacteriophages.
it is iNtRON.
Source :
Massive expansion of human gut bacteriophage diversity
Camarillo-Guerrero et al., 2021, Cell184, 1098–1109February 18, 2021ª2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.