A groundbreaking study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen has discovered over 10,000 previously unknown viruses in the gut microbiome of babies. The study, which analyzed diaper samples from 647 healthy Danish infants over a five-year period, found that the viruses represented more than 200 families of previously undescribed viruses. The discovery sheds new light on the role of gut bacteria and viruses in early childhood development and could have implications for the prevention of chronic diseases later in life.
The researchers identified 10,000 virus species in the stool samples of the infants, a number ten times greater than the number of bacteria species found in the same samples. The viruses, which were visualized in an interactive map, spanned 248 different virus families, of which only 16 were previously known. The remaining 232 virus families were named after the infants whose diapers were used in the study. The researchers found that 90% of the viruses were bacteriophages, which do not cause disease and are considered allies in the fight against harmful bacteria. The remaining 10% were eukaryotic viruses, which bind to human cells.
The study’s lead author, Dennis Sandris Nielsen, explained that the high number of viruses in the gut of infants could be due to the fact that their immune systems are still developing and require a variety of bacteriophages for protection. The researchers also hypothesized that the viruses may play a role in training the immune system to recognize and fight infections later in life. However, the study’s findings also raise the possibility that the viruses could be a risk factor for previously unknown diseases. The study provides a new foundation for understanding the importance of viruses in the gut microbiome and the development of the immune system.
