Rhizosphere metagenomes of tundra plants

The goal of the study was to characterize rhizosphere metagenomes (both 16S and ITS sequencing), of common tundra plants belonging to different sites across the Tundra. The plants include Betula nana, Eriophorum vaginatum, Salix pulchra, Salix reticulata, Vacinium uliginosum and Empetrum nigrum. The sites were chosen based on their glacial history which ranges from 11,000 years to 4.5 million years old. By using glacial history as a proxy for mineralogical weathering, we were able to obtain plants belonging to a diverse set of soil types and vegetative communities across the North Slope of Alaska.