Viral Diversity and Dynamics in an Infant Gut

Mya Breitbart, Matthew Haynes, Scott Kelley, Florent Angly, Robert Edwards, Ben Felts, Joseph Mahaffy, Jennifer Mueller, James Nulton, Steve Rayhawk, Beltran Rodriguez-Brito, Peter Salamon, Forest Rohwer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Metagenomic sequencing of DNA viruses from the feces of a healthy week-old infant revealed a viral community with extremely low diversity. The identifiable sequences were dominated by phages, which likely influence the diversity and abundance of co-occurring microbes. The most abundant fecal viral sequences did not originate from breast milk or formula, suggesting a non-dietary initial source of viruses. Certain sequences were stable in the infant's gut over the first 3 months of life, but microarray experiments demonstrated that the overall viral community composition changed dramatically between 1 and 2 weeks of age.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalResearch in Microbiology
Volume159
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2008

Keywords

  • Infant
  • Feces
  • Virus
  • Phage
  • Metagenomics
  • Microarray
  • Gut

Disciplines

  • Life Sciences

Cite this