Maureen L. Coleman

Assistant Professor
Research Summary
Our group studies microbial population diversity, ecology, and evolution. We focus primarily on freshwater and marine systems, and we use a combination of laboratory experiments, field observations, and computational analyses. Our current projects include 1) the role of marine viruses in biogeochemical processes; 2) the physiology and genetics of photoheterotrophy; and 3) phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of microbes in the Laurentian Great Lakes.
Keywords
Cyanobacteria, Microbial Ecology, Genomics, Environmental, Phototrophy, Bacteriophages
Education
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, Ph.D. Environmental Microbiology 2008
  • MIT/Caltech, Pasadena, CA, postdoc Geobiology 2011
Biosciences Graduate Program Association
Awards & Honors
  • 2014 - Sloan Research Fellow in Ocean Sciences
Publications
  1. Tracking nitrogen allocation to proteome biosynthesis in a marine microbial community. Nat Microbiol. 2023 Mar; 8(3):498-509. View in: PubMed

  2. Genome Streamlining, Proteorhodopsin, and Organic Nitrogen Metabolism in Freshwater Nitrifiers. mBio. 2022 06 28; 13(3):e0237921. View in: PubMed

  3. Diagnosing nutritional stress in the oceans. Science. 2021 04 16; 372(6539):239-240. View in: PubMed

  4. Microbial communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes reflect connectivity and local biogeochemistry. Environ Microbiol. 2020 01; 22(1):433-446. View in: PubMed

  5. Metabolic and biogeochemical consequences of viral infection in aquatic ecosystems. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2020 01; 18(1):21-34. View in: PubMed

  6. Nitrogen sourcing during viral infection of marine cyanobacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019 07 30; 116(31):15590-15595. View in: PubMed

  7. Reevaluating the Salty Divide: Phylogenetic Specificity of Transitions between Marine and Freshwater Systems. mSystems. 2018 Nov-Dec; 3(6). View in: PubMed

  8. Genome-scale fitness profile of Caulobacter crescentus grown in natural freshwater. ISME J. 2019 02; 13(2):523-536. View in: PubMed

  9. Distinct molecular signatures in dissolved organic matter produced by viral lysis of marine cyanobacteria. Environ Microbiol. 2018 08; 20(8):3001-3011. View in: PubMed

  10. Transcriptional responses of the marine green alga Micromonas pusilla and an infecting prasinovirus under different phosphate conditions. Environ Microbiol. 2018 08; 20(8):2898-2912. View in: PubMed

  11. Visualizing Adsorption of Cyanophage P-SSP7 onto Marine Prochlorococcus. Sci Rep. 2017 03 10; 7:44176. View in: PubMed

  12. Towards quantitative viromics for both double-stranded and single-stranded DNA viruses. PeerJ. 2016; 4:e2777. View in: PubMed

  13. Disturbance Regimes Predictably Alter Diversity in an Ecologically Complex Bacterial System. mBio. 2016 12 20; 7(6). View in: PubMed

  14. Divergent responses of viral and bacterial communities in the gut microbiome to dietary disturbances in mice. ISME J. 2016 May; 10(5):1217-27. View in: PubMed

  15. A multitrophic model to quantify the effects of marine viruses on microbial food webs and ecosystem processes. ISME J. 2015 Jun; 9(6):1352-64. View in: PubMed

  16. Human and environmental impacts on river sediment microbial communities. PLoS One. 2014; 9(5):e97435. View in: PubMed

  17. Diverse capacity for 2-methylhopanoid production correlates with a specific ecological niche. ISME J. 2014 Mar; 8(3):675-684. View in: PubMed

  18. Transcriptome and proteome dynamics of a light-dark synchronized bacterial cell cycle. PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e43432. View in: PubMed

  19. Portal protein diversity and phage ecology. Environ Microbiol. 2008 Oct; 10(10):2810-23. View in: PubMed

  20. Genome-wide expression dynamics of a marine virus and host reveal features of co-evolution. Nature. 2007 Sep 06; 449(7158):83-6. View in: PubMed

  21. Genomic islands and the ecology and evolution of Prochlorococcus. Science. 2006 Mar 24; 311(5768):1768-70. View in: PubMed

  22. Three Prochlorococcus cyanophage genomes: signature features and ecological interpretations. PLoS Biol. 2005 May; 3(5):e144. View in: PubMed