Isolation by Miniaturized Culture Chip of an Antarctic bacterium Aequorivita sp. with antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity

•Novel microbial isolation approach allowed the identification of a Gram-negative Antarctic bacterium belonging to the genus Aequorivita.•Aequorivita sp. showed antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity without toxic effect towards eukaryotic cells.•The whole genome of Aequorivita sp. was sequenced and compared with other strains to identify biosynthetic gene clusters.•This novel approach represents a promising strategy to isolate rare or novel strains useful for biotechnological applications. Microbes are prolific sources of bioactive molecules; however, the cultivability issue has severely hampered access to microbial diversity. Novel secondary metabolites from as-yet-unknown or atypical microorganisms from extreme environments have realistic potential to lead to new drugs with benefits for human health. Here, we used a novel approach that mimics the natural environment by using a Miniaturized Culture Chip allowing the isolation of several bacterial strains from Antarctic shallow water sediments under near natural conditions. A Gram-negative Antarctic bacterium belonging to the genus Aequorivita was subjected to further analyses. The Aequorivita sp. genome was sequenced and a bioinformatic approach was applied to identify biosynthetic gene clusters. The extract of the Aequorivita sp. showed antimicrobial and anthelmintic activity towards Multidrug resistant bacteria and the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This is the first multi-approach study exploring the genomics and biotechnological potential of the genus Aequorivita that is a promising candidate for pharmaceutical applications.