The human virome encompasses the collection of viruses found to infect humans, which interact with the immune system and often leave indelible effects in human health. Current serological methods are limited to one or a handful clinically suspected viral species, leaving these long-lasting virus-host interactions in the dark. Xu et al. developed a high-throughput method to characterize the antibody repertoire and viral history in human sera. A combination of DNA microarray synthesis and bacteriophage display of 206 peptide linear epitopes comprising the known human virome, followed by immunoprecipitation and high-throughput DNA sequencing reveal the peptides recognized by antibodies in the sample. A screen test in donors shows an average of 10 viral species per person, with variability depending on age, location and HIV status. Identification of public epitopes and frequency of some relevant viruses in public health provide a glimpse into future possible applications of this method, which may be beyond profiling the human virome.

Learn how DNA sequencing was used to identify human viromes. Learn more at:
illumina.com/areas-of-interest/microbiology/microbial-sequencing-methods/shotgun-metagenomic-sequencing.html
illumina.com/areas-of-interest/microbiology/infectious-disease-surveillance.html

Products:
HiSeq: illumina.com/systems/hiseq_2500_1500.html


Publication Links:
PMID: 26045439| Xu, et al. (2015): ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26045439

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