Metaproteomes of Seawater Microbial Communities from a Wastewater Exposure Experiment

A short-term microcosm experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of wastewater discharge on coastal microbial communities. Coastal seawater was exposed to two types of treated wastewater: (i) unfiltered wastewater, containing nutrients, pollutants, and allochthonous microbes, and (ii) filtered wastewater, which retained only nutrients and pollutants while removing microbial components. Metaproteomic samples were collected from the coastal seawater prior to the experiment and from each experimental flask at the late exponential growth phase to assess microbial functional responses to wastewater exposure.