16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing of soils contaminated with diluted bitumen and conventional crude oil

To understand the behaviour of diluted bitumen (dilbit) in the unsaturated zone following a surface spill, we ran parallel dilbit and conventional heavy crude exposures, along with an untreated control, using large (60 cm width,100 cm height), soil-filled columns over a period of 104 days. Soil was collected in July 2019 from the Gault Nature Reserve, approximately 40 km east of Montreal. The soil was transported immediately to the Laboratoires pour l'inovation scientifique et technologique de l'environnement (LISTE) facilities of INRS-ETE in Quebec City, Quebec where the columns experiment was conducted. Soil cores were collected at regular intervals during the study from each column at three depths (top, middle, and bottom). Sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA genes extracted from soil cores was done in order to monitor the response of the microbial community following exposure to both types of oil, as well as to identify potential hydrocarbon-degraders.