asphalt oil contaminated sediment Raw sequence reads

Natural oil seeps offer a unique opportunity to study the evolution and adaptation of ecosystems to long-term oil contamination and the degradation potential of indigenous microorganisms. In the current study, we investigated the 'Herodotus Springs' of Keri Lake in Zakynthos Island, Greece. This ecosystem is unique as at several sites asphalt oil springs can be found, a physical phenomenon which is well-known since 2500 years ago. The aim of this project was to identify inherent adaptations on the metagenomic level of the microbial communities in Keri Lake and compare these findings to studies of other ecosystems with a long history of oil contamination. To this end, sediment cores were collected from a non- and a highly- contaminated sites in Keri Lake and subjected to metagenomic shotgun sequencing.