169201 20260223164759.0 doi 10.1038/s41598-026-37305-4 sideral 148288 ART-2026-148288 eng Muñoz-Hisado, Víctor Microbial communities and biomineralization potential within mountain permafrost of the Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees 2026 Ice caves constitute one of the last cryospheric environments studied in the meridional regions. They are undergoing a pronounced ice reduction, and are an important example of ecosystems that have not yet been thoroughly explored from a microbiological point of view. The Devaux cave, in the Central Pyrenees, still hosts perennial ice. To test whether this ice contained microbial communities, prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms were searched by sequencing their 16S and 18S rRNA genes. From the taxonomic information, the potential functional pathways of these communities were predicted using bioinformatic techniques. In addition, the genome of the microorganisms housed in the perennial ice samples was investigated, and through metagenomic studies their metabolic capacity was elucidated. The cryogenic mineralization of the Devaux cave leads to the production of various Ca and Mg carbonates: calcite, aragonite, vaterite, Mg-rich calcite, and nesquehonite, whose formation may have been favored by the microorganisms in the cave. Among the genes encoding enzymes that enable reactions involved in biomineralization, those belonging to the nitrate and sulfate reduction dissimilatory pathways as well as ureases, ammonia lyases, and carbonic anhydrases were identified. This research takes a further step in the investigation of biomineralization, using the Devaux cave as a model. Access copy available to the general public Unrestricted info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/AEI/PID2023-146641NB-C21 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/HORIZON EUROPE/101107943/EU/THORIZON TMA MSCA-PF-01 info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/MDM-2017–0737 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess by-nc-nd https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/deed.es info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Bartolomé, Miguel Osácar, M. Cinta Universidad de Zaragoza (orcid)0000-0002-5246-366X Giménez, Reyes Cazenave, Gerard Garcia-Lopez, Eva Moreno, Ana Cid, Cristina 2000 120 Universidad de Zaragoza Dpto. Ciencias de la Tierra Área Cristalografía Mineralog. 16, 1 (2026), [21 pp.] Sci. rep. (Nat. Publ. Group) Scientific reports (Nature Publishing Group) 2045-2322 6719652 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169201/files/texto_completo.pdf Versión publicada 2018232 http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/169201/files/texto_completo.jpg?subformat=icon icon Versión publicada oai:zaguan.unizar.es:169201 articulos driver 2026-02-23-14:54:24 ARTICLE