Diversity-generating retroelements enable phages to expand their host range in the human gut.

DGR-encoding phages in human gut samples are linked to broader host interaction, with 31 of 97 phages carrying DGRs and targeting receptor-binding variable regions.

• Why it matters: The hypothesis that DGRs expand phage host range in complex communities has been largely in silico, lacking direct in situ evidence within the human gut microbiome.
• What they did: Longitudinal faecal samples over five weeks were analyzed using bulk metagenomics, VLP sequencing, and Hi-C to map 380 phage–host interactions across 97 phages and 76 bacterial hosts.
• The result: Nucleotide diversity in DGR-targeted genes increased with the number of hosts per phage and concentrated in the surface-exposed variable region, supporting in situ host-range expansion by DGRs.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.