Maureen L. Coleman | Microbiology

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

Tracking nitrogen allocation to proteome biosynthesis in a marine microbial community. Nat Microbiol. 2023 Mar; 8(3):498-509. View in: PubMed
Genome Streamlining, Proteorhodopsin, and Organic Nitrogen Metabolism in Freshwater Nitrifiers. mBio. 2022 06 28; 13(3):e0237921. View in: PubMed
Diagnosing nutritional stress in the oceans. Science. 2021 04 16; 372(6539):239-240. View in: PubMed
Microbial communities of the Laurentian Great Lakes reflect connectivity and local biogeochemistry. Environ Microbiol. 2020 01; 22(1):433-446. View in: PubMed
Metabolic and biogeochemical consequences of viral infection in aquatic ecosystems. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2020 01; 18(1):21-34. View in: PubMed
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
Reevaluating the Salty Divide: Phylogenetic Specificity of Transitions between Marine and Freshwater Systems. mSystems. 2018 Nov-Dec; 3(6). View in: PubMed
Genome-scale fitness profile of Caulobacter crescentus grown in natural freshwater. ISME J. 2019 02; 13(2):523-536. View in: PubMed
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
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
Visualizing Adsorption of Cyanophage P-SSP7 onto Marine Prochlorococcus. Sci Rep. 2017 03 10; 7:44176. View in: PubMed
Towards quantitative viromics for both double-stranded and single-stranded DNA viruses. PeerJ. 2016; 4:e2777. View in: PubMed
Disturbance Regimes Predictably Alter Diversity in an Ecologically Complex Bacterial System. mBio. 2016 12 20; 7(6). View in: PubMed
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
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
Human and environmental impacts on river sediment microbial communities. PLoS One. 2014; 9(5):e97435. View in: PubMed
Diverse capacity for 2-methylhopanoid production correlates with a specific ecological niche. ISME J. 2014 Mar; 8(3):675-684. View in: PubMed
Transcriptome and proteome dynamics of a light-dark synchronized bacterial cell cycle. PLoS One. 2012; 7(8):e43432. View in: PubMed
Portal protein diversity and phage ecology. Environ Microbiol. 2008 Oct; 10(10):2810-23. View in: PubMed
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
Genomic islands and the ecology and evolution of Prochlorococcus. Science. 2006 Mar 24; 311(5768):1768-70. View in: PubMed
Three Prochlorococcus cyanophage genomes: signature features and ecological interpretations. PLoS Biol. 2005 May; 3(5):e144. View in: PubMed