Github Repository for the paper on The Human Skin Virome Harbors Host Associated Antibiotic Resistant and Auxiliary Metabolic Genes
This work is in progress and a link will be provided once published.
To cite this work or code: TBD
ABSTRACT
The human skin is the first barrier against pathogens and consists of a diverse microbiome that provides protective functions. Studies have demonstrated that bacteriophages modulate bacterial community composition and facilitate the transfer of host-specific genes, potentially influencing host cellular functions. However, little is known about the human skin virome and its role in human health. Expressly, how viral-host relationships influence skin microbiome structure and function is poorly understood. To address this, population dynamics and genetic diversity of bacteriophage communities were evaluated in viral metagenomic data collected from three anatomical skin locations from 60 subjects at five different time points collected over 6-months. We found that cutaneous bacteriophage populations are mainly composed of tailed Caudovirales phages that carry auxiliary genes to help improve host fitness through metabolic processes and antimicrobial resistance. Sequence variation in the MRSA-associated AMR gene, erm(C), was evaluated through targeted sequencing to identify host selection of antimicrobial genes. This large temporal study of human skin-associated viruses indicates that the human skin virome is associated with auxiliary metabolic genes and AMR genes to help increase host fitness.
FUNDING
This work was completed using the Holland Computing Center of the University of Nebraska, which receives support from the Nebraska Research Initiative. This work was supported by the Department of Justice, USA [Grant numbers 2017-IJ-CX-0025 and 2019-75-CX-0017] and NIJ Fellowship [Grant number 2019-R2-CX-0048].All of the funding agencies had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
More info: Herr Lab Website; Fernando Lab Website