Antarctic soil microbiomes as a reservoir for cosmetic bioactives: continental-scale diversity and predicted...

Demand for clean beauty ingredients is driving discovery of safe, effective, and sustainable actives. Microbes inhabiting polar deserts produce biomolecules adapted to stress, relevant to skin protection and regeneration.

To characterize taxonomic diversity and functional potential of Antarctic soil microbiomes from distinct biogeographic regions and identify microbial genes linked to cosmetic efficacy.

Public 16S rRNA amplicon datasets from NCBI SRA were compiled and classified into four Antarctic Conservation Biogeographic Regions: North Antarctic Peninsula, East Antarctica, South Victoria Land, and Transantarctic Mountains. Functional profiles were predicted using PICRUSt2 and analyzed for antioxidant, anti-aging, moisturization, skin-barrier, and regeneration pathways via KEGG Orthology terms.

Analysis of 406 sequencing runs identified 54,523 amplicon sequence variants from 48 bacterial and 2 archaeal phyla. Actinobacteria dominated (36.1%), followed by Bacteroidetes (13.0%) and Proteobacteria (10.5%). East Antarctica exhibited highest diversity (Shannon index mean 8.97) and evenness (0.87), with region-distinct communities. Functional prediction revealed enriched antioxidant defense, skin-barrier maintenance, moisturization, and photoprotective genes. Taxonomic and functional ordinations partially decoupled, indicating functional convergence amid taxonomic divergence.

Antarctic soils are a rich source of microbial functions for cosmetic innovation, especially in East Antarctica. Multi-omics validation, strain isolation, and sustainable production may accelerate development of next-generation clean beauty actives compliant with access and benefit-sharing regulations.