Grasis Juris A
Department of Biology, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States.
School of Natural Sciences, University of California at Merced, Merced, CA, United States.
Front Immunol. 2017 Nov 9;8:1501. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2017.01501. eCollection 2017.
Animals live in symbiosis with the microorganisms surrounding them. This symbiosis is necessary for animal health, as a symbiotic breakdown can lead to a disease state. The functional symbiosis between the host, and associated prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and viruses in the context of an environment is the holobiont. Deciphering these holobiont associations has proven to be both difficult and controversial. In particular, holobiont association with viruses has been of debate even though these interactions have been occurring since cellular life began. The controversy stems from the idea that all viruses are parasitic, yet their associations can also be beneficial. To determine viral involvement within the holobiont, it is necessary to identify and elucidate the function of viral populations in symbiosis with the host. Viral metagenome analyses identify the communities of eukaryotic and prokaryotic viruses that functionally associate within a holobiont. Similarly, analyses of the host in response to viral presence determine how these interactions are maintained. Combined analyses reveal how viruses interact within the holobiont and how viral symbiotic cooperation occurs. To understand how the holobiont serves as a functional unit, one must consider viruses as an integral part of disease, development, and evolution.
动物与周围的微生物共生。这种共生关系对动物健康至关重要，因为共生关系的破坏可能导致疾病状态。宿主与环境中的相关原核生物、真核生物和病毒之间的功能共生体就是全生物。事实证明，解读这些全生物关联既困难又具有争议性。特别是，尽管自细胞生命诞生以来这些相互作用就一直存在，但全生物与病毒的关联一直存在争议。争议源于这样一种观点，即所有病毒都是寄生性的，但其关联也可能是有益的。为了确定病毒在全生物中的作用，有必要识别并阐明与宿主共生的病毒群体的功能。病毒宏基因组分析可识别在全生物中功能相关的真核和原核病毒群落。同样，对宿主对病毒存在的反应进行分析，可确定这些相互作用是如何维持的。综合分析揭示了病毒在全生物中是如何相互作用的，以及病毒共生合作是如何发生的。为了理解全生物如何作为一个功能单元发挥作用，必须将病毒视为疾病、发育和进化的一个组成部分。
