Elsevier

Virus Research

Volume 244, 15 January 2018, Pages 218-229
Virus Research

Review
A decade of RNA virus metagenomics is (not) enough

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.virusres.2017.10.014Get rights and content
Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Highlights

  • Review of the state of the first decade or so of RNA virus metagenomics.

  • History, principles, protocols, and major discoveries in RNA virus metagenomics.

  • More effort in following up on existing RNA viral discoveries is needed.

Abstract

It is hard to overemphasize the role that metagenomics has had on our recent understanding of RNA virus diversity. Metagenomics in the 21st century has brought with it an explosion in the number of RNA virus species, genera, and families far exceeding that following the discovery of the microscope in the 18th century for eukaryotic life or culture media in the 19th century for bacteriology or the 20th century for virology. When the definition of success in organism discovery is measured by sequence diversity and evolutionary distance, RNA viruses win. This review explores the history of RNA virus metagenomics, reasons for the successes so far in RNA virus metagenomics, and methodological concerns. In addition, the review briefly covers clinical metagenomics and environmental metagenomics and highlights some of the critical accomplishments that have defined the fast pace of RNA virus discoveries in recent years. Slightly more than a decade in, the field is exhausted from its discoveries but knows that there is yet even more out there to be found.

Keywords

Metagenomics
RNA virus
Viral discovery
Conjoined circles

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