Project name: Carnoulès Metagenome Project

Description: Environmental DNA originates from the site of Carnoulès, Gard (France). It was extracted from a Nycodenz gradient filtration of 200 ml of the upper zone of a five centimeter deep white sediments collect sampled at the bottom of the Reigous creek, in a station called COWG, located 30 m downstream of the source of a small stream collecting ancient mine waste waters contaminated with (among others) zinc, lead and arsenic.Arsenic constitutes a threat to the health of several million people throughout the world and its presence in the environment depends in part on microbial biotransformations. An arsenic-rich ecosystem has been explored by environmental genomics approaches, which led to the reconstruction of several genomes, including those of a new bacterial phylum.

Last updated: 2011-01-28