The persistence and stabilization of auxiliary genes in the human skin virome

Virology Journal · 7 authors, 9 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

This longitudinal metagenomic study analyzed viral communities from three skin sites in 60 participants over five time points spanning six months. The skin bacteriophage population was predominantly composed of Caudovirales phages carrying auxiliary metabolic genes and antimicrobial resistance genes, with functional variants of the erm(C) gene persisting at high abundance, suggesting these genes confer a fitness advantage to phages and their bacterial hosts.

Full summary

882 CHARS

This longitudinal cohort study collected viral metagenomic samples from three anatomical skin locations (left hand, right hand, scalp) across 60 participants at five time points over six months. A total of 648 auxiliary metabolic genes were identified, including genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid synthesis. Antimicrobial resistance genes were also detected, including efflux pump genes (mef(A), msr(D), qacF) and ribosomal interaction genes (RlmH, erm(C), MphE). Targeted amplicon sequencing of erm(C) revealed that the gene was temporally stable in some individuals and that only functional variants persisted at high abundance. Limitations include potential annotation bias due to overrepresentation of Caudovirales in reference databases, possible removal of large viruses by 0.22 μm filtration, and amplification bias from whole genome amplification.

STUDY TYPE

cohort

SPECIALTY

epidemiology

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10031188

The persistence and stabilization of auxiliary genes in the human skin virome

Virology Journal

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Background The human skin contains a diverse microbiome that provides protective functions against environmental pathogens. Studies have demonstrated that bacteriophages modulate bacterial community composition and facilitate the transfer of host-specific genes, potentially influencing host cellular functions. However, little is known about the human skin virome and its role in human health. Especially, how viral-host relationships influence skin microbiome structure and function is poorly understood. Results Population dynamics and genetic diversity of bacteriophage communities in viral metagenomic data collected from three anatomical skin locations from 60 subjects at five different time points revealed that cutaneous bacteriophage populations are mainly composed of tailed Caudovirales phages that carry auxiliary genes to help improve metabolic remodeling to increase bacterial host fitness through antimicrobial resistance. Sequence variation in the MRSA associated antimicrobial resistance gene, erm(C) was evaluated using targeted sequencing to further confirm the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes in the human virome and to demonstrate how functionality of such genes may influence persistence and in turn stabilization of bacterial host and their functions. Conclusions This large temporal study of human skin associated viruses indicates that the human skin virome is associated with auxiliary metabolic genes and antimicrobial resistance genes to help increase bacterial host fitness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12985-023-02012-3.

CITATION EXPORT

Ema H. Graham, Wesley A. Tom, Alison C. Neujahr et al.. The persistence and stabilization of auxiliary genes in the human skin virome. Virology Journal. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12985-023-02012-3

AUTHORS

7 · 9 CENTRES

Ema H. Graham, Wesley A. Tom, Alison C. Neujahr, Michael S. Adamowicz, Jennifer L. Clarke, Joshua R. Herr, Samodha C. Fernando

1grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060PhD Program in Complex Biosystems, University of Nebraska, 3940 Fair St, C220K, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
2grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
3grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA
4grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA
5grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Department of Statistics, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA
6grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Food Science and Technology Department, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588 USA
7grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Department of Plant Pathology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68503 USA
8grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Center for Plant Science Innovation, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68503 USA
9grid.24434.350000 0004 1937 0060Nebraska Center for Virology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68583 USA