Viral symbioses ?

The aim of this lecture was to better define the contours of what could be a true human virome, i.e. a collection of viral species truly engaged in a mutualistic symbiosis at different levels, but particularly in the skin, the intestine and the "inner environment". This seems to be the case for anelloviruses acquired very early in life. At this stage, however, it is difficult to define whether we are in a true situation of mutualistic symbiosis, or on the fringes of viral latency. This is a particularly thorny issue with Herpes viruses, whose latency is not synonymous with total quiescence, as transcriptomic studies have shown. It's not impossible that Herpes viruses play a role in the maturation of the immune system in young subjects and protection against infection, and then a deleterious role in the senescence of the immune system in the elderly.