Comparing microbial community compositions of biogas and sewage treatment plants by analyzing 16S rRNA gene data

This article contains data of bacterial and archaeal community compositions and process parameters of 16 biogas (BPs) and ten sewage treatment plants (STPs). Nucleic acids of BPs were extracted using a CTAB-based method while a phenol-chloroform-based method was applied for STPs. Amplicon sequencing data of the 16S rRNA gene was achieved by MiSeq-technology. Raw data were processed and statistically analyzed by several approaches including network analyses by using molecular ecological network analysis (MENA). Nodes of each network (BPs and STPs) were classified as generalists and peripherals to identify key players for a stable biogas production. Network parameters as well as interaction of generalistic species were compared between both plant types.