Engineering Biological Approaches for Detection of Toxic Compounds: A New Microbial Biosensor Based on the Pseudomonas putida TtgR Repressor.
Environmental contamination by toxic organic compounds and antimicrobials is one of the causes for the recent surge of multidrug-resistant pathogenic bacteria. Monitoring contamination is therefore the first step in containment of antimicrobial resistance and requires the development of simple, sensitive, and quantitative tools that detect a broad spectrum of toxic compounds. In this study, we have engineered a new microbial biosensor based on the ttgR-regulated promoter that controls expression of the TtgABC extrusion efflux pump of Pseudomonas putida, coupled to a gfp reporter. The system was introduced in P. putida DOT-T1E, a strain characterized by its ability to survive in the presence of high concentrations of diverse toxic organic compounds. This whole-cell biosensor is capable to detect a wide range of structurally diverse antibiotics, as well as compounds such as toluene or flavonoids.
Department of Environmental Protection, Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), C/Profesor Albareda, 1, 18008, Granada, Spain.
Manuel
M
Espinosa-Urgel
Luis
L
Serrano
Juan Luis
JL
Ramos
Ana María
AM
Fernández-Escamilla
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D015386:Hazardous Substances / Q000032:analysis*; D016958:Pseudomonas putida / Q000235:genetics*; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D015386:Hazardous Substances; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C510127:TtgR protein, Pseudomonas putida