Metagenomes of temperate soils

Using whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing and isolation approach, we investigated hydrocarbon-degrading potential of microbial communities from temperate soils with different hydrocarbon content (pristine versus hydrocarbon contaminated soils). We studied: a) diversity and hydrocarbon-utilizing preferences of isolated hydrocarbon degraders, and (b) diversity of genes involved in the activation of aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons (namely: alkane 1-monooxygenase alkB, and aromatic ring-hydroxylating dioxygenase ARHD) represented in communities of the analyzed soil samples.The aim was also to obtain indigenous hydrocarbon-degrading strains capable of metabolizing both n-alkanes and aromatic compounds for future application.