Researchers studied acidophilic microbial communities in acid mine drainage to understand how they grow and function. They created a lab system to mimic natural biofilms and used a special technique to compare the proteins in lab-grown and natural communities. They found that the lab communities were similar to natural ones but grew slower and had more stress response proteins. By changing the lab conditions, they were able to increase growth rates. This study provides a new way to analyze microbial communities and develop a model system for future research.