methanogenic alkane-degrading consortium M82 Raw sequence reads. Smithella sp. M82 isolate:M82

Culture-independent approaches are providing deeper insight into the diversity of syntrophic alkane-degrading microorganisms, such as Syntrophaceae. But until now, little quantitative information exists to explain their physiological capabilities in nature for the great challenge to cultivating the as-yet uncultured microbes. Here, We performed metagenomic sequencing of a highly-enriched methanogenic hexadecane-degrading consortium, and recovered a near-complete genome belonging to the family Syntrophaceae sublineage II, tentatively named ‘Candidatus Smithella cisternae strain M82_1’.