VERVENet: the viral ecology research and virtual exchange network

The advent of metagenomic methods to sequence DNA directly from an environment has revolutionized viral ecology, making it possible to “see” natural viral communities that could not be previously studied through culture. This technological leap has enabled further innovation in: extracting and sequencing limited viral DNA from communities, enriching and sequencing wild viruses through single-cell genomics, and creating new bioinformatics methods for large-scale comparative and functional metagenomics. Yet, the knowledge for specialized techniques in viral ecology remains in a subset of labs. We present a viral ecology community forum called VERVENet that strives to increase connectivity and knowledge dissemination in viral ecology research at all levels from undergraduates to accomplished viral ecologists. Our forum leverages and refines existing software from protocols.io to enhance a researcher’s ability to: discuss and share protocols, connect with fellow community members, and learn about new and innovative research in the field. In delivering these valuable tools, VERVENet is a central resource to connect, collaborate, share and innovate for the viral ecology community. Moreover, these tools are broadly useful to any community or individual lab to promote scientific inquiry, reproduction of results, and dissemination and optimization of both molecular and bioinformatics protocols.