marine metagenome Genome sequencing and assembly

Marine microorganisms derive energy and carbon from the degradation of hydrocarbons in oil, which aids in the bioremediation process during anthropogenic oil spills, such as during the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) spill. Our knowledge of the underlying degradation pathways is mostly limited to a few cultured bacteria. Our research goal is to identify active hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and resolve the metabolic potential of these uncultured bacteria. Therefore, we performed metagenomic sequencing on SIP-DNA samples from sea surface and plume samples from the Gulf of Mexico collected during the DWH oil spill in 2010. Plume and sea surface samples were separately exposed with heavy labeled n-hexadecane (HEX) as well as naphthalene (NAP) and phenanthrene (PHE) in stable isotope probing (SIP) experiments.