Human virome

Human virome is the collection of viruses in and on the human body. Defining the virome is thought to provide an understanding of microbes and how they affect human health and disease. Viruses in the human body infect both human cells as well as other microbes such as bacteria. For instance, many viruses (the bacteriophages) actually infect bacteria. Some viruses cause infections, while others may be asymptomatic. Certain viruses are integrated in the human genome. Viruses evolve rapidly and hence the human virome changes constantly. Every human being has a unique virome with a unique balance of species. Lifestyle, age, geographic location, and even the season of the year affects an individual's exposure to viruses; while their susceptibility to disease is effected by preexisting immunity and both viral and human genetics. The human virome is far from being completely explored and new viruses are discovered frequently.

Multiple methods are available for the isolation and study of human viruses:

The human virome is not stable and may change over time. In fact, new viruses are discovered constantly. With an increasing number of known viruses, diagnosis and treatment of novel viral-associated conditions will become easier as well. Lastly, studying the virome could help improve drug development and limit antibiotic usage.

One of the first studies that used high-throughput DNA sequencing to describe the diversity of eukaryotic dsDNA viruses in normal individuals included 706 samples from 102 subjects. This study detected an average of 5.5 viral genera in each individual and these viruses included herpesviruses, papillomaviruses, polyomaviruses, adenoviruses, anelloviruses, parvoviruses, and circoviruses.

Each individual had a distinct viral profile, demonstrating the high interpersonal diversity of the virome. One to 15 viral genera (average 5.5) were detected in 92% of the 102 individuals sampled (Figure 2). Figure 3 illustrates the viromes of the 102 individuals defined by sampling up to five major body habitats, showing that a broad range of viruses was detected in healthy people (Figure 3).

The 102 individuals carried seven distinct families of human DNA viruses (Figure 4A). Sequences were detected predominantly in the nose and skin, similarity to 17 papillomavirus genera(Figure 4B).Roseoloviruses, predominantly HHV-7 and to a lesser extent HHV-6, were present among 98% of the individuals who provided mouth samples.

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