Open AccessHuman anelloviruses: diverse, omnipresent and commensal members of the virome
Author(s) -
Joanna Kaczorowska,
Lia van der Hoek
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
fems microbiology reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.91
H-Index - 212
eISSN - 1574-6976
pISSN - 0168-6445
DOI - 10.1093/femsre/fuaa007
Subject(s) - human virome , biology , population , commensalism , disease , virology , transmission (telecommunications) , pandemic , virus , evolutionary biology , immunology , genome , genetics , covid-19 , infectious disease (medical specialty) , bacteria , gene , environmental health , medicine , pathology , electrical engineering , engineering
Anelloviruses are small, single stranded circular DNA viruses. They are extremely diverse and have not been associated with any disease so far. Strikingly, these small entities infect most probably the complete human population, and there are no convincing examples demonstrating viral clearance from infected individuals. The main transmission could be via fecal-oral or airway route, as infections occur at an early age. However, due to the lack of an appropriate culture system, the virus-host interactions remain enigmatic. Anelloviruses are obviously mysterious viruses, and their impact on human life is not yet known, but, with no evidence of a disease association, a potential beneficial effect on human health should also be investigated.