Fecha de publicación: -- Fuente: PubMed "olive oil" Microbiol Res. 2026 Nov 4;315:128811. doi: 10.1016/j.micres.2026.128811. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTMarine sediments remain among the least characterised components of the Antarctic microbial landscape. Here, bacterial communities were investigated in sediments from three sites within the Antarctic Specially Protected Area No. 161, in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica). Samples were collected during the XXXIII Italian Antarctic Expedition. The sites differed in their local environmental context, including proximity to the Adélie penguin colony and Mario Zucchelli Station. Bacterial communities were characterised by 16S rRNA gene sequencing (V3-V4 region), with amplicon sequence variants resolved using DADA2, and complemented by PICRUSt2 predicted functional potential, bacterial isolation, and quorum-sensing bioassays. Bacteroidota and Proteobacteria dominated all sites, but community composition and diversity differed significantly among sampling sites. AC showed the highest alpha diversity, while ASPA2 showed the lowest. Of the 5423 amplicon sequence variants detected across the nine samples (three per site), 680 were shared across all samples and defined a core microbiome dominated by Bacteroidota and Proteobacteria. Despite marked differences in community composition, broad predicted functional profiles were relatively conserved, whereas finer-scale KEGG Orthology profiles showed site-associated variation. Seventeen psychrophilic strains were isolated, predominantly Psychrobacter, and most displayed hydrolytic activity towards olive oil, tributyrin, or both substrates. Biosensor-responsive activity was detected exclusively in enrichment cultures and not in extracts from individual isolates, providing preliminary evidence of putative quorum-sensing-related activity associated with mixed microbial consortia. These findings provide a baseline for investigating environmental drivers of Antarctic sediment microbiomes and microbial interactions in future studies.PMID:42998587 | DOI:10.1016/j.micres.2026.128811