Caves are extreme environments inhabited by microbial communities adapted to thrive oligotrophic conditions. Cave microbes are organised in complex ecological networks and have developed survival strategies involving the production and release of a large variety of secondary metabolites, including antibiotic-like compounds. In this study, the structure and the metabolic features of a biofilm-like microbial community lining the walls of a pristine karst cavity (the Yumugi river cave) located in a remote region of the Western New Guinea were investigated. 16S rRNA and shotgun sequence analyses highlighted the prevalence of chemoorganotrophic phyla (Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Acidobacteria), consistent with metabolic predictions inferred from the cave metagenome analysis. Few clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance genes were detected. A culture-based approach allowed the isolation of some heterotrophic members of the bacterial community, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed an overall high level of resistance to different antimicrobials classes. Isolates presumptively representing new uncharacterized members of genus Pseudomonas displayed interesting antibiotic properties against Gram-positive indicator strains. Our work supports the hypothesis that caves represent a reservoir for new bacterial species and drug discovery research.

洞穴是适应繁华的贫营养条件的微生物群落所居住的极端环境。洞穴微生物组织在复杂的生态网络中，并且已经制定了生存策略，涉及生产和释放包括抗生素类化合物在内的多种次生代谢产物。在这项研究中，研究了位于新几内亚西部偏远地区的原始岩溶腔（Yumugi河溶洞）内壁的生物膜状微生物群落的结构和代谢特征。16S rRNA和shot弹枪序列分析突出了化学有机营养型门（变形杆菌，放线菌，硬毛和酸性细菌）的流行），与从洞穴基因组分析得出的代谢预测相一致。几乎没有临床相关的抗药性基因被检测到。基于培养的方法允许分离细菌群落的一些异养成员，并且抗菌药敏测试显示了对不同抗菌剂类别的总体高水平抗药性。推测代表假单胞菌属新成员的分离株对革兰氏阳性指示菌显示出有趣的抗生素特性。我们的工作支持以下假设：洞穴代表了新细菌物种和药物发现研究的库。