Viral and Bacterial Metagenomes from ZOFE Agricultural Soils

Bacteriophages are the most numerous biological entities on earth and play a crucial role in shaping microbial communities. Unfortunately, the study of soil viromes lags far behind any other ecological model system, due to the heterogeneous soil matrix that rises major technical difficulties in the extraction process. We have analysed by high-throughput metagenomics the viral and bacterial fractions of several agricultural soils from one of the oldest arable long-term field experiment in Europe (ZOFE, Zurich Organic Fertilization Experiment)), which implements different fertilization practices. We have also analysed the optimization of protocols for extraction of the viral fraction from the same soil matrix preceding metagenomic analysis such that the protocol can equally be harnessed for phage isolation. This bioproject contains several viral and bacterial metagenomes.