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Virome refers to the collection of nucleic acids, both RNA and DNA, that make up the viral community associated with a particular ecosystem or holobiont. The word is derived from virus and genome and first used by Forest Rohwer and colleagues to describe viral shotgun metagenomes. All macro-organisms have viromes that include bacteriophage and viruses. Viromes are important in the nutrient and energy cycling, development of immunity, and a major source of genes through lysogenic conversion.

History
Viromes were the first examples of shotgun community sequence, which is now known as metagenomics. In the 2000s, the Rohwer lab sequenced viromes from seawater, marine sediments, adult human stool, infant human stool,[9] soil,[10] and blood.[11] This group also performed the first RNA virome with collaborators from the Genomic Institute of Singapore.[12] From these early works, it was concluded that most of the genomic diversity is contained in the global virome and that most of this diversity remains uncharacterized.[13] This view was supported by individual genomic sequencing project, particularly the mycobacterium phage.[14]

Methods of study
In order to study the virome, virus-like particles are separated from cellular components, usually using a combination of filtration, density centrifugation, and enzymatic treatments to get rid of free nucleic acids.[15] The nucleic acids are then sequenced and analyzed using metagenomic methods. Alternatively, there are recent computational methods that use directly metagenomic assembled sequences to discover viruses.[16]