The human gut contains a diverse ecosystem of microorganisms that are beneficial to our body and consist of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. While the bacterial component of the gut microbiota has been extensively studied, increasing attention is now being directed toward the gut virome, which comprises the vast array of viruses, particularly bacteriophages, residing in the gastrointestinal tract. These viruses are important modulators of intestinal bacteria and have an impact on conditions such as obesity and Crohn’s disease.
Since the sequencing and data analytics breakthrough, the research on gut viruses (virome) has experienced rapid growth, yet there are significant challenges associated with measuring and characterizing the full diversity of the gut virome. A systematic bibliometric analysis was conducted to assess global research trends on the gut virome from 2000 to 2024, with the goal of evaluating current progress, identifying research hotspots, and guiding future investigations.
The bibliometric analysis was based on scientific publications indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection from 2000 to 2024. A total of 3,356 articles, which have been thoroughly screened, were included in the analysis. The study extracted important information, including the number of publications, citations, countries of affiliation, institutions of affiliation, journals, authors, co-authors, and keywords of publications. All these data were analysed using three pre-established tools: VOSviewer (v1.6.20), CiteSpace (v6.1.R6), and the R-Bibliometrix Package. VOSviewer is a well-known software tool for the development and visualization of bibliometric networks.
Over the last 20 years, there has been a significant increase in both the number of papers published and the number of citations related to the gut virome. This has been driven primarily by the development of high-throughput sequencing technologies, and the emergence of viral genome databases such as CheckV to improve enterovirus classification, and to identify uncharacterized bacteriophages. These developments have completely changed virome research from the identification of isolated viruses to integrative multi-omics studies that explore complex virus–host interaction networks.
However, modern research reveals a significant imbalance between computational research (dry lab) and experimental (wet lab) studies. Over half of the findings are derived solely from bioinformatics analyses, while translational research relying on virus isolation, culture, and functional validation accounts for only 25% of the total output. Most importantly, the evidence chain required to fully elucidate key mechanisms, such as virus–host molecular interactions, remains incomplete.
The human gut virome is a crucial component of the gut microbiome and affects overall host health. This bibliometric study describes the accelerated growth of gut virome research from initial pathogen detection using PCR techniques to today’s advanced explorations of viral ecology and pathogenesis. Despite progress, significant knowledge gaps remain, particularly in understanding how specific viruses interact with their bacterial and human hosts, and how these interactions contribute to disease. Addressing these gaps will require greater investment in translational research, along with efforts to standardize data, build unified viral databases, and foster international collaborations.
References: Zhang Y, Mei T, Wang M, et al. Analysis of the overall development trends and hotspots in the research field of the human gut virome. Virol J. 2025;22:224. doi:10.1186/s12985-025-02856-x
