Soil metagenomes from polyolefin and masterbatch biodegradation microcosms
Shotgun metagenomes from soil microcosms used to investigate microbial community responses to polyolefin polymer amendments. Seven treatments were established in triplicate sealed microcosms using a standardised synthetic soil inoculum (70% quartz sand, 10% kaolinite clay, 16% natural topsoil, 4% mature compost; natural soil and compost sourced from the SIRIM campus, Malaysia). Treatments comprised two virgin polypropylene materials (PP1, PP2), three masterbatch polyolefins subjected to accelerated UV weathering (PP1-MB1, PP2-MB2, PE-MB1; weathered according to ASTM D2565/ISO 4892-2), an unmodified soil negative control, and a cellulose positive control. Microcosms were incubated until respiration activity stabilised. Co-assembly metagenomes were generated per treatment from three biological replicates using Illumina short-read sequencing and assembled with MEGAHIT.