Ecological distribution and population physiology defined by proteomics in a natural microbial community

A fundamental question in microbial ecology addresses how organisms regulate their metabolic activities within natural communities as environmental constraints and population structures change. Recent advances in molecular biology have allowed for investigation into the physiology of organisms within natural settings, opening the door to understanding microbial metabolic responses in situ. Here, we have examined how a diverse set of organisms from microbial biofilms alters their protein complements as environmental parameters change and as ecological succession occurs. We find that, when growing in newly formed biofilms, the dominant organism within these communities exhibits a metabolism focused on rapid growth, protein synthesis, [...]