FOULS

To better understand the microbial communities developing in food industry in presence of fatty amine lubricant, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of biofilms collected from spray nozzles and bottle conveyors in operating breweries. By combining 16S and 18S rRNA gene sequencing with nanopore-based shotgun metagenomics, we aimed to: (i) characterize the taxonomic composition of these biofilms; (ii) identify dominant bacterial and eukaryotic genera; and (iii) assess the presence of potential antimicrobial resistance genes and other functional traits. Despite the widespread use of amine-based lubricants in industrial settings, there is, to our knowledge, no available data addressing the possibility of cross-resistance between genes conferring tolerance or resistance to these compounds and antibiotic resistance genes. This represents a potential gap in our understanding of how industrial chemical exposure may shape microbial resistance profiles. Through this approach, we seek to elucidate how lubricant-based products used in breweries shape microbial communities, and to identify genes involved in lubricant degradation, this guiding the development of new lubricants with enhanced antimicrobial properties.