The host range of a bacteriophage is the taxonomic diversity of hosts it can successfully
infect. Host range, one of the central traits to understand in phages, is determined by a range …

Viruses that infect microbial hosts have traditionally been studied in laboratory settings with
a focus on either obligate lysis or persistent lysogeny. In the environment, these infection …

While decomposition of organic matter by bacteria plays a major role in nutrient cycling in
terrestrial ecosystems, the significance of viruses remains poorly understood. Here we …

As one of the largest biotechnological applications, activated sludge (AS) systems in
wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) harbor enormous viruses, with 10-1,000-fold higher …

Ocean viruses are abundant and infect 20–40% of surface microbes. Infected cells, termed
virocells, are thus a predominant microbial state. Yet, virocells and their ecosystem impacts …

The virome is one of the most variable components of the human gut microbiome. Within
twin pairs, viromes have been shown to be similar for infants, but not for adults, indicating …

Highlights•Global phage diversity is now primarily explored through cultivation-independent
metagenomics.•Metagenome-derived phages are typically linked to their host (s) via in silico …

Viral metagenomics has expanded our knowledge of the ecology of uncultured viruses,
within both environmental (eg, terrestrial and aquatic) and host-associated (eg, plants and …

Bacteriophages play important roles in regulating the intestinal human microbiota
composition, dynamics, and homeostasis, and characterizing their bacterial hosts is needed …

Viral discovery is accelerating at an unprecedented rate due to continuing advances in
culture-independent sequence-based analyses. One important facet of this discovery is …