New Zealand aquifer microbiology. groundwater metagenome

Groundwater samples were collected, to obtain microbial biomass, from 59 wells across 4 regions in New Zealand (Auckland, Waikato, Wellington and Canterbury). Samples comprised natural groundwater and groundwater collected following a pulse of low frequency sonication to induce biofilm and particle detachment from the surrounding aquifer. Microbial cells were captured on a 0.22 micrometer pore size filter. Nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) were extracted from filters, 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequences were obtained for all samples, and whole genome and transcriptome shotgun sequences were obtained for a subset of 8 wells.