Alterations in the gut virome in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background & Aims Obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are associated with changes in the gut bacterial composition, but little is known about the role of the viral community (virome) in disease development. This study aims to characterize the gut virome alterations in obese subjects with or without T2DM. Methods There were 128 obese subjects (body mass index ≥28 kg/m2) and 101 lean controls (body mass index ≥18.5 and Results Obese subjects, especially those with T2DM (ObT2), had a decreased gut viral richness and diversity compared with lean controls in the Hong Kong cohort (P Conclusions Obesity is characterized by altered viral taxonomic composition and weakened viral-bacterial correlations compared with lean controls. Obesity accompanied with T2DM may aggravate the obesity-associated virus signatures, signifying that the gut virome may play an important role in the development of obesity and T2DM. Geographic factors also contributed to the variations of gut virome in obesity and T2DM.