Metagenome of SIP enriched soil bacterias involved in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) degradation.. soil metagenome

The aim of this project was to learn about the genomes of soil bacteria specialized in the biodegradation of a class of persistent pollutants, namely polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). For this purpose, PAH-degrading bacteria were labelled in situ through stable isotope probing (SIP). The method involved incubation of soil with 13C-labelled phenanthrene, subsequent extraction of bulk DNA from soil and purification of the 13C-labelled fraction. This DNA fraction has been subjected to 454 pyrosequencing and metagenomic analysis. Results give insights into the genomes of a few unculturable bacteria, previously identified by SIP as members of the Betaproteobacteria (Martin et al., 2012), which may be critical for removal of PAHs from contaminated sites. Some of the metabolic capabilities of these bacteria are unravelled in this work.