title: An arsenic-specific biosensor with genetically engineered Shewanella oneidensis in a bioelectrochemical system.
abstract: Genetically engineered microbial biosensors have yet to realize commercial success in environmental applications due, in part, to difficulties associated with transducing and transmitting traditional bioluminescent information. Bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) output a direct electric signal that can be incorporated into devices for remote environmental monitoring. Here, we describe a BES-based biosensor with genetically encoded specificity for a toxic metal. By placing an essential component of the metal reduction (Mtr) pathway of Shewanella oneidensis under the control of an arsenic-sensitive promoter, we have genetically engineered a strain that produces increased current in response to arsenic when inoculated into a BES. Our BES-based biosensor has a detection limit of ~40 μM arsenite with a linear range up to 100 μM arsenite. Because our transcriptional circuit relies on the activation of a single promoter, similar sensing systems may be developed to detect other analytes by the swap of a single genetic part.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Dylan P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Michaela A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: TerAvest
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Devin F R
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Doud
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Arun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chakravorty
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Eric C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: Holmes
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Caleb M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Radens
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors.forename: Swati
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sureka
authors.affiliation: BioTechnology Institute and Department of Microbiology, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gralnick
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Electronic address: la249@cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Largus T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Angenent
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D015374:Biosensing Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D005818:Genetic Engineering; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D020592:Shewanella / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; C116147:MtrB protein, Shewanella putrefaciens; D007501:Iron; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Arsenic; Bioelectrochemical system (BES); Continuous monitoring; Microbial biosensor; Shewanella; Synthetic biology