The human gut is known to be a reservoir of a wide variety of microbes, including viruses. Many RNA viruses are known
to be associated with gastroenteritis; however, the enteric RNA viral community present in healthy humans has not
been described. Here, we present a comparative metagenomic analysis of the RNA viruses found in three fecal samples
from two healthy human individuals. For this study, uncultured viruses were concentrated by tangential flow filtration,
and viral RNA was extracted and cloned into shotgun viral cDNA libraries for sequencing analysis. The vast majority of
the 36,769 viral sequences obtained were similar to plant pathogenic RNA viruses. The most abundant fecal virus in
this study was pepper mild mottle virus (PMMV), which was found in high concentrations�up to 109 virion per gram of
dry weight fecal matter. PMMV was also detected in 12 (66.7%) of 18 fecal samples collected from healthy individuals
on two continents, indicating that this plant virus is prevalent in the human population. A number of pepper-based
foods tested positive for PMMV, suggesting dietary origins for this virus. Intriguingly, the fecal PMMV was infectious to
host plants, suggesting that humans might act as a vehicle for the dissemination of certain plant viruses.
The WGS project and sequences deposited into the Trace Archive can be found using the Project data link. Less...