Microbial and Geochemical Variability in Sediments and Biofilms from Italian Gypsum Caves.

ABSTRACT: In Europe, several gypsum karst regions occur among which the gypsum karsts located in Emilia-Romagna (UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023) and Sicily are notable. The sediments, spring water microbial aggregates, and wall biofilms from three caves, Re Tiberio, Befana (Emilia-Romagna), and the Sicilian Santa Ninfa, have been studied from a microbiological and geochemical point of view. The samples of wall biofilms from gypsum caves were exclusively composed of Bacteria, while the sediments showed negligible abundances of Archaea. The two most abundant phyla in most sediments and biofilms were Actinomycetota and Pseudomonadota, whereas the microbial aggregates floating in the spring waters of Befana Cave showed a deviation from the typical abundance pattern as Campylobacterota replaced Ac

SUBMITTER: Martin-Pozas T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12289794 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature