A comprehensive database for biological data derived from sewage in five European cities

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Genomics
• Public health

Background:

• Sewage metagenomics is crucial for pathogen surveillance and understanding microbial communities.
• Longitudinal datasets are essential for tracking dynamic changes in microbial populations.
• Existing datasets may lack comprehensive annotations or accessibility for reuse.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and share a highly curated, longitudinal sewage metagenomics dataset.
• To facilitate pathogen surveillance and microbial community analysis across European cities.
• To promote data reuse and advance research through an accessible resource.

Main Methods:

• Collected 239 sewage samples from five European cities over time.
• Performed metagenomic sequencing and analyzed taxonomic profiles and antimicrobial resistance genes.
• Utilized qPCR for specific pathogen identification and Hi-C sequencing for genomic linkage.

Main Results:

• Generated a comprehensive dataset including taxonomic profiles, antimicrobial resistance genes, and assembled genomes.
• Developed a publicly available PostgreSQL database for efficient data exploration and querying.
• Provided annotated metagenome-assembled genomes and associated metadata.

Conclusions:

• The presented dataset and database offer a valuable resource for sewage metagenomics research.
• This initiative supports proactive pathogen surveillance and microbial ecology studies.
• The data facilitates efficient access and reuse, accelerating scientific discovery.