Sequenced metagenomes of 15 samples across the water column of the Black Sea

The Black Sea is the largest stratified anoxic marine basin in the world, holding promise for the discovery of novel biological molecules due to the distinct microbial niches caused by its redox zonation. To comprehensively characterize its complete metalipidome and its potential contributors, we collected suspended particulate matter (SPM) covering the full range of redox zones from 50 to 2,000 meters below sea level (mbsl; 15 depths): the oxic zone (50–70 mbsl), and the anoxic zone (80–2,000 mbsl), which is further subdivided in the suboxic zone (80–105 mbsl; no detectable sulfide), and the euxinic zone (110–2,000 mbsl; sulfidic). To comprehensively identify likely microbial producers of unusual lipids in the Black Sea, we sequenced the metagenomes of the SPM that was used for lipid analysis, followed by de novo assembly and binning of the assembled scaffolds in metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs). The metagenomic reads and assemblies are deposited here, the MAGs are deposited at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10346513.