Metagenomic analysis on the taxonomic and functional response of microbial community to long-term permafrost warming

Permafrost-affected soils are widespread in the Arctic and store about as much carbon as is currently in the atmosphere. Climate change may lead to deepening of the active layer and exposure of old permafrost carbon and its in situ microbial communities to above-zero temperatures. This study monitored the greenhouse gas production rates and microbial community changes using whole metagenome Illumina sequencing on soil from the active layer, transition layer and intact permafrost after five years of anoxic incubation at a constant warming scenario of 4°C. The omics data will enable us to better delineate the taxonomic and functional changes, key groups of genes and genomes on climate-relevant (long-term) timescales