Abstract Bacteria inhabit a diverse set of ecological niches, and can adapt their growth to a wide range of chemical and physical conditions via sensory/signal transduction systems. Although these systems are highly abundant in bacteria, we have limited understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which cells utilize these regulatory systems to integrate environmental information. This work aims to understand a conserved mechanism known as the General Stress Response (GSR), which enables Alphaproteobacteria to adapt and respond to changes in the environment. I will use the freshwater species, Caulobacter crescentus, as a model system to investigate how bacterial signaling systems function in bona fide environmental contexts. Recent results from clinical and environmental microbiome studies demonstrate that a complete understanding of microbial physiology requires the interrogation of cell growth in environmentally relevant conditions. Developing C. crescentus as a model system to study the GSR integration of sensory information will provide a novel approach to define the mechanism of bacterial signal transduction in an environmental context. Experiments from this proposal will define how bacteria interface with their environment in natural conditions, leading to a more complete understanding of how bacterial cells survive in a diverse range of niches, including human hosts. The Crosson Lab has a successful track record of utilizing techniques from a wide range of disciplines to pursue questions probing genetic and molecular function with regards to bacterial signaling systems. Their broad interdisciplinary approach will yield new insights to understanding how bacterial cells sense and respond to their environments. My postdoctoral training in the Crosson Lab, focused on characterization of a conserved regulatory process within the context of the natural environment, will help facilitate my successful transition into an independent research scientist with a focus on microbial communities.