Data underlying the publication: Species sorting shapes the divergence of a natural bacterial community with repeatable functionality during propagation with alternative substrates

This data is derived from a field based adaptive evolution experiment. Here, we explored a process of species sorting and its consequence on community-level functionality using mabisi, a traditional Zambian fermented milk, by exposing a common mabisi microbial community to five distinct substrates and propagating replicate communities at three farm sites in rural Zambia. The substrates - raw bovine milk (control), low-fat milk, full-cream milk, and the infant formulas F100 and S26 – represented novel environments, were propagated at a fixed dilution and static conditions to generate ~ 66 generations. Microbial community composition was profiled through 16S rDNA sequencing, while community-level functioning was assessed through volatile organic compound profiling by GC-MS, pH changes with a pH meter, and consistency analysis using an Adam's consistometer.