Hacking the ribosome to map virus-host associations

2026-07-22

"High throughput sequencing and metagenomics have deepened our understanding of viruses in nature, yet linking viruses to their hosts remains a challenge, hindering our knowledge and applications. The VirHoX project aims to overcome this by ""hacking"" the ribosome to map virus-host associations. Leveraging a critical moment in the infection cycle of all viruses, the translation of viral genes into proteins by the host cell, we will uncover concealed relationships between viruses and their hosts, providing a universal tool for virus-host pairing. This novel approach, VirHo-seq, involves ligating host ribosomal RNA with viral mRNA during translation in infected cells using engineered enzymes, followed by high throughput sequencing to reveal virus-host pairings. Our interdisciplinary consortium of academic and industrial experts in microbiology, protein engineering, gene editing, viral genomics/transcriptomics and law, will develop and then prepare the commercialisation of VirHo-seq, envisioning legislative and analytical frameworks to maximise its impact. This technology will significantly help tackle current challenges, such as those posed by emerging pathogens, ecological disruptions, and climate change. Our approach aligns with the EIC Work Programme objectives, demonstrating feasibility on model organisms before validating on relevant samples, addressing the ""engineered living materials"" challenge."

Italy, France, Norway, Austria, Germany, Poland

2026-03-01