Aldus viridis ssp. fruticosa Nodule Microbiome Metagenomic assembly

Plant roots are home to beneficial microbes where microorganisms help plants to obtain nutrients, tolerate stress and sustain growth. Nitrogen (N) fixation is a common mutualistic symbiosis where the plant provides the N-fixing bacteria with sugars and a variety of minerals, and the bacteria provide the host with N. We investigated the nodule microbiome of alder Alnus viridis spp. fruticosa, an N-fixing deciduous shrub and an important contributor to N-cycling in the tundra. Frankia alni and its relatives form a symbiotic relationship exclusively with trees in the genus Alnus but this actinorhizal symbiosis is not as well characterized as the agriculturally important legume-rhizobia symbiosis, especially in the Arctic. This study use metagenomic sequencing to resolve alder nodule microbiome.