Features of the gut prokaryotic virome of Japanese patients with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The gut virome is mainly composed of bacteriophages and influences gut homeostasis and pathogenic conditions. In this study, we analyzed the gut prokaryotic virome in Japanese patients with Crohn's disease (CD).

MATERIALS/METHODS: We collected 19 fecal samples from CD patients and 16 samples from healthy controls. The gut bacteriome was analyzed by 16S rRNA gene sequencing and the virome was profiled by shotgun metagenomic sequencing.

RESULTS

Despite no differences in richness and evenness, there was a significant difference in the overall structure of the gut virome between CD patients and controls (P = 0.013). CrAssphage and Staphylococcus virus, belonging to the order Caudovirales, were dominant in the gut virome of controls and CD patients. The abundance of crAssphage was significantly greater in CD patients than controls (P = 0.021). Lactococcus, Enterococcus and Lactobacillus phages were present only in CD patients, while Xanthomonas and Escherichia phages were unique to the controls. In the gut bacteriome of CD patients, richness and evenness were significantly lower, and a significant difference in the overall structure was observed between groups (P = 0.014). The gut bacteriome of CD patients was characterized by a decrease of the genera Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Ruminococcus and an increase of the family Enterobacteriaceae. There were more significant correlations between viruses and bacteria in CD patients than controls.

CONCLUSIONS

The gut virome of CD patients was distinct from that of healthy controls in a Japanese population. An altered gut virome may be one of the factors associated with the bacterial dysbiosis of CD.