Deep within the aphotic zones of the Amazon’s ferruginous caves, a hidden world of microbial “dark matter” holds immense potential as a source for pharmacological innovation. A pioneering metabolomic survey of these extreme environments isolates rare bacterial genera that thrive in these iron-rich landscapes. They use SIRIUS to identify and classify chemical features, including potent cyclopeptides demonstrating growth inhibition against cancer cell lines.
N. N. Kato et al. Chem. Biodivers. (2026) doi: 10.1002/cbdv.202502912
