Adipogenic adenoviruses as a biomarker for disease

A method for determining if a subject is predisposed to developing adipogenic adenovirus type 36-related diabetes, said method comprising the steps of:

• obtaining a sample from the subject;
• assaying the sample to determine whether the subject is infected with an adipogenic adenovirus type 36;
• and
• determining whether the subject is predisposed to developing diabetes, based on the presence or absence of an adipogenic adenovirus type 36 in the sample, wherein a subject having an adipogenic adenovirus type 36 has a higher pre-disposition for developing diabetes relative to a subject not infected with an adipogenic adenovirus type 36.