Impact of prophages on gut microbiota and disease associations

The gut microbiota plays an important role in maintaining host health by affecting various physiological functions. Among the diverse microbial communities in the gut, prophages are integral components of bacterial genomes, contributing significantly to bacterial evolution, ecology and pathogenicity. Prophages are capable of switching to lytic cycles in response to various internal and external factors. Factors that induce prophage induction include DNA damage, oxidative stress, nutrient availability, host immune response, quorum sensing, diet, secondary metabolites, antibiotics, and lifestyle changes. Prophage induction could contribute to both gut homeostasis and dysbiosis. Importantly, the connections between prophage induction and disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, and bacterial vaginosis highlight the dual roles of prophages in both health and disease. Although therapeutic approaches such as phage therapy (PT), fecal microbiota transplants (FMT), and fecal virome transplants (FVT) have gained attention, the concept of dietary prophage induction therapy offers a novel, targeted method to modulate gut microbiota. In spite of recent advances in understanding the role of prophages in gut health, the exact mechanisms by which they influence gut health remain only partially understood. Therefore, further research is needed to elucidate additional molecular mechanisms of prophage induction pathways and to explore their implications for gut microbiota dynamics and disease associations. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms and key factors that trigger prophage induction in the gut. Insights into these processes could lead to innovative therapeutic strategies that utilize prophages to support gut health.