Gut virome dysbiosis following focal cerebral ischemia in mice.

Stroke leads to gut bacterial dysbiosis that impacts the post-stroke outcome. The gut microbiome also contains a high abundance of viruses which might play a crucial role in disease progression and recovery by modulating the metabolism of both host and host's gut bacteria. We presently analyzed the virome composition (viruses and phages) by shotgun metagenomics in the fecal samples obtained at 1 day of reperfusion following transient focal ischemia in adult mice. Viral genomes, viral auxiliary metabolic genes, and viral protein networks were compared between stroke and sham conditions (stroke vs sham, exclusive to sham and exclusive to stroke). Following focal ischemia, abundances of 2 viral taxa decreased, and 5 viral taxa increased compared with the sham. Furthermore, the abundance of Clostridia-like phages and Erysipelatoclostridiaceae-like phages were altered in the stroke compared with the sham cohorts. This is the first report to show that the gut virome responds acutely to stroke.