大量病毒聚集在消化系统中，但它们如何影响健康却知之甚少。研究人员对肠道中病毒种群的动向进行调查，揭示了肠道中病毒组的个体差异性以及它们对饮食变化的反应。论文发表在8月30日《Genome Research》期刊上。
人体肠道中病毒组随饮食而改变
宾夕法尼亚大学Frederic Bushman 博士称，我们的身体就像是珊瑚礁，许多不同生物在这里寄生、彼此相互作用以及与寄生环境进行互动。这些作用方式，尤其在微妙的肠道微生物群落中，很可能对人体健康和疾病有重大影响。
在这项研究中，研究人员调查了肠道病毒组对饮食的动态变化。6名健康志愿者的饮食结构分成3组方案：高脂低纤维、低脂高纤维和即兴饮食。
在8天的试验周期中，通过分析粪便中病毒和细菌的DNA序列，研究人员发现“饮食干扰”对病毒种群的结构产生明显的影响，表现在：同一饮食能够引起更为相似的病毒种群。
Bushman称，这项研究提供了一种关于人体肠道中病毒种群的新视角，证实了病毒组因人而异以及表明了饮食结构不仅影响细菌种群还影响病毒种群。
美国宾夕法尼亚大学佩雷尔曼医学院的科学家参与这项研究，经费由Human Microbiome Roadmap Demonstration Project 资助。（生物探索译 Pobee）
生物探索推荐英文原文
Viruses in the Human Gut Show Dynamic Response to Diet
The digestive system is home to a myriad of viruses, but how they are involved in health and disease is poorly understood. In a study published online August 30 in Genome Research, researchers have investigated the dynamics of virus populations in the human gut, shedding new light on the gut "virome" and how it differs between people and responds to changes in diet.
"Our bodies are like coral reefs," said Dr. Frederic Bushman of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, senior author of the study, "inhabited by many diverse creatures interacting with each other and with us." The interactions between viruses, bacteria, and the human host likely have significant consequences for human health and disease, especially in the delicate ecosystem of the gut microbiome.
In this work, lead author Sam Minot, Bushman, and colleagues investigated the dynamics of the gut virome during perturbations to diet. The group studied six healthy volunteers -- some received a high fat and low fiber diet, others a low fat and high fiber diet, and one an ad-lib diet.
By analyzing DNA sequences from viruses and bacteria present in stool of the volunteers over the course of eight days, they found that although the largest variation in virus diversity observed occurred between individuals, over time dietary intervention significantly changed the proportions of virus populations in individuals on the same diet, so that the viral populations became more similar.
"The study provides a new window on the vast viral populations that live in the human gut, demonstrates that they vary radically between individuals, and shows that dietary changes can affect not just bacterial populations but also viral populations," Bushman said.
Scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) contributed to this study.
This work was supported by the Human Microbiome Roadmap Demonstration Project, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the National Institutes of Health, and the Molecular Biology Core of The Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases.
