Metagenomic Characterization of Microbial Communities in Groundwater Associated with Contaminated Land

These occurred at theedge of the site and at the core of the plume, where pH was the highest (9.52).Thirty-six viral generalists were discovered, with ‘BGW-G9’ having the broadesthost range across 23 taxa, including <i>Pseudomonas,Polycyclovorans, Methylocaldum</i> and <i>CandidatusMagnetobacterium</i> species. Gene orthologs for enzymes of the lower hydrocarbon-degradingpathways were amongst the most represented at the site (<i>e.g. pcaC</i> and <i>praC</i>), and thegenomes of various degrader populations were successfully assembled (<i>e.g. Oxalobacteraceae</i> and <i>Rhodocyclaceae</i>).

Biodegradation genes wereleast abundant at the core of the plume. Auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs) that couldcontribute to the degradation of hydrocarbons were identified in the viromes (<i>e.g. adhC</i> and <i>galB</i>). Altogether, the broad host ranges and AMGs identified arepresumed to affect the biodegradation processes conducted by various bacteriaof the environment studied.

This thesis for the first time characterized thephages, their hosts and AMGs associated with a contaminant plume.