Isolation, identification, and diversity analysis of bacteria able to degrade humic substances from Alaska tundra soil

Three different kinds of soil humic substances were extracted from soil and plant debris samples in cold environments of Alaska tundra region. A total of 143 cold-adapted bacterial strains having an ability to degrade or bioconvert humic substances were isolated from the samples. The isolates were identified through the analysis of their 16S rRNA genes and the bacterial diversity was analyzed to be simple. The objective is to isolate bacterial strains able to degrade humic substances from cold environments in the Arctic region and to analyze their microbial diversity. Also, a functional genomic study on the microbial degradative pathway(s) for soil humic substances is an another main purpose.