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This study examines bacterial diversity, biofilm potential and antimicrobial susceptibility in two industrial CTw in Brazil using culture-based and metataxonomic (16\u00a0S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing) approaches. Fourteen bacterial genera and 22 species were identified, including\n                    <jats:italic>Bacillus<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. (60% of isolates),\n                    <jats:italic>Acinetobacter<\/jats:italic>\n                    spp. (14%) and others like\n                    <jats:italic>Pseudomonas<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>Serratia<\/jats:italic>\n                    , and\n                    <jats:italic>Ochrobactrum<\/jats:italic>\n                    , many linked to biofilm formation and ARB. Metataxonomic analysis revealed a broader and more diverse microbial community, comprising families such as\n                    <jats:italic>Burkholderiaceae<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>Comamonadaceae<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>and Sphingomonadaceae<\/jats:italic>\n                    , which are known for their biofilm resilience. Pathogens including\n                    <jats:italic>Legionella<\/jats:italic>\n                    were also detected. Bacterial richness was higher in CTw 2, likely due to untreated industrial and domestic effluent inputs, whereas CTw 1, supplied with treated secondary industrial effluent, exhibited lower diversity. Functional predictions indicated genes associated with biofilm formation, quorum-sensing, motility and xenobiotic degradation. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed high resistance to \u03b2-lactams and nitrofurantoin, with meropenem being the most effective. Higher resistance rates in CTw 2 suggest selective pressure from industrial contaminants. These findings underscore the complex microbial ecology of CTw and the coexistence of cultivable and non-cultivable bacteria with biofilm-forming capacity and antimicrobial resistance traits in these systems.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s11274-026-05127-1","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]],"date-time":"2026-07-14T08:31:47Z","timestamp":1784017907000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Diversity, biofilm formation and antimicrobial susceptibility of aerobic heterotrophic bacteria isolated from cooling towers"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"42","author":[{"given":"Marcus Vin\u00edcius","family":"Dias-Souza","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andrea Lima","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ubiana","family":"de C\u00e1ssia Mour\u00e3o Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aline Daniela Lopes","family":"J\u00falio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andr\u00e9a","family":"Veiga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sergio","family":"Pagnin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vera L\u00facia","family":"dos Santos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"5127_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"195","DOI":"10.7883\/yoken.63.195","volume":"63","author":"OK Altun","year":"2010","unstructured":"Altun OK, Yalaz M, Ozalkaya E, Polat DC, Akisu M, Kultursay N (2010) Kluyvera cryocrescens Sepsis in a Preterm Infant. 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