title: Design and application of a biosensor for monitoring toxicity of compounds to eukaryotes.
abstract: Here we describe an alternative approach to currently used cytotoxicity analyses through applying eukaryotic microbial biosensors. The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae was genetically modified to express firefly luciferase, generating a bioluminescent yeast strain. The presence of any toxic chemical that interfered with the cells' metabolism resulted in a quantitative decrease in bioluminescence. In this study, it was demonstrated that the luminescent yeast strain senses chemicals known to be toxic to eukaryotes in samples assessed as nontoxic by prokaryotic biosensors. As the cell wall and adaptive mechanisms of S. cerevisiae cells enhance stability and protect from extremes of pH, solvent exposure, and osmotic shock, these inherent properties were exploited to generate a biosensor that should detect a wide range of both organic and inorganic toxins under extreme conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Aberdeen, Institute of Medical Sciences, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Hollis
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Killham
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Glover
mesh_terms: D008456:2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000633:toxicity; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D004237:Diuron / Q000633:toxicity; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D006540:Herbicides / Q000633:toxicity; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D049449:Luminescence; D012441:Saccharomyces cerevisiae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics; D012997:Solvents / Q000633:toxicity; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D006540:Herbicides; D012997:Solvents; C008340:mecoprop; D003300:Copper; D004237:Diuron; D008456:2-Methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic Acid; D008156:Luciferases