Dynamic changes occur in the DNA gut virome of female cynomolgus macaques during aging

Abstract

Abstract Aging is a critical factor affecting physical health and disease in mammals. Emerging evidence indicates that aging may affect the gut bacteriome in cynomolgus macaques, but little is known about whether or how the gut virome changes with age. Here, we compared the DNA gut viral composition of 16 female cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) at three life stages (young, adult, and old) using the shotgun metagenome sequencing method. We found that the DNA gut virome from these monkeys differed substantially among the three groups. The gut viruses were dominated by bacteriophages, the most abundant of which was the Caudovirales order (i.e., Siphoviridae, Myoviridae, and Podoviridae families). Additionally, the co‐occurrence analysis revealed that the age‐related bacteriophages were correlated in an extensive and complex manner with the main intestinal bacteria (i.e., Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria phyla). Furthermore, the age‐related DNA gut viral functions were enriched for genetic information processing, nucleotide, and folate metabolism. Our gut virome analysis provides new insight into how aging influences the gut virome of non‐human primates.

Keywords

• aging
• bacteriophages
• cynomolgus macaques
• DNA gut virome
• shotgun metagenome sequencing