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Published on: August 7, 2017
Comparison of gut viral communities in children under 5 years old and newborns
Hong Li1,2, Hao Wang3, Huimin Ju1
1Department of Pediatrics, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, 212000, P.R. China.
Insights
The gut virome in children shows higher diversity and abundance compared to newborns, indicating dynamic changes in viral communities during early development. This study explored gut bacteriophage composition in young children.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Human Health
Background:
- The human gut virome, primarily bacteriophages, influences the gut microbiome and health.
- Limited data exists on the dynamic changes of the gut virome in children and its impact on growth.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the gut viral community composition in newborns and children under 5 years old.
- To compare the gut bacteriophage diversity and abundance between these two age groups.
Main Methods:
- Viral metagenomics was employed to analyze fecal samples from 45 newborns and 45 children.
- Comparative analysis of gut virome composition, diversity (alpha and beta), and abundance was performed.
Main Results:
- Children exhibited significantly higher gut virome sequence reads, diversity, and abundance compared to newborns.
- Distinct differences in gut bacteriophage composition were observed between the newborn and children groups.
- Viral genetic analysis revealed scattered and specifically clustered phage genomes.
Conclusions:
- The gut bacteriophage community is dynamic and diversifies over time in children.
- The study characterized regional gut virome composition in children and newborns.
- Further research is necessary to understand bacteriophage functions in the gastrointestinal tract.
Objectives:
The gut virome of humans is mainly composed of bacteriophages and their role in shaping the gut microbiome and influencing human health is increasingly recognized. However, little is known about the dynamic changes of the gut virome in children and its role in growth and development. In this study, we collected fecal samples from newborns and children under 5 years old from the same area during the same time period to investigate the gut viral community using viral metagenomic technique.
Methods:
We used viral metagenomics to compare the gut bacteriophage composition between newborns and children under 5 years of age. We collected fecal samples from 45 newborns who were born at the Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University and 45 healthy children who were examined at the same hospital. The two groups were classified as the newborn group and the children group.
Results:
Our sequencing analysis showed that the number of seqeunce reads of the children group were more than that of the newborn group. The results of alpha diversity and beta diversity both indicated that the diversity of the children group was significantly higher than that of the newborn group and the children group is different from the newborn group. The abundance of gut virome in the children group was also higher than that in the newborn group. The analysis of the genetic characteristics of the viruses showed that the phage genome was scattered and clustered with specificity.
Conclusion:
Our findings indicate that the gut bacteriophage communities undergo changes over time, presenting diversity and dynamic characteristics. We characterized the composition of gut virome in children and newborns in this region. However, further research is needed to investigate the function of bacteriophages in the ecology of the gastrointestinal tract.
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