1. Sposensor: a whole-bacterial biosensor that uses immobilized Bacillus subtilis spores and a one-step incubation/detection process.
- Author
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Fantino JR, Barras F, and Denizot F
- Subjects
- Bacillus subtilis drug effects, Cells, Immobilized metabolism, Genes, Reporter, Spores, Bacterial drug effects, beta-Galactosidase genetics, beta-Galactosidase metabolism, Bacillus subtilis metabolism, Bacitracin analysis, Biosensing Techniques methods, Spores, Bacterial metabolism, Zinc analysis
- Abstract
A generic whole-cell bacterial sensor called sposensor was developed with immobilized spores from engineered Bacillus subtilis. Sposensor contains two different types of spores: reporting spores that contain a reporter gene fused to a promoter responding to a compound to be detected, and control spores use to monitor cell germination and viability. A one-step incubation/detection process was developed to meet the constraints of on-site analysis. Spores were directly incubated with culture medium containing the compound to be detected. beta-Galactosidase was chosen as a reporter protein in both cases and its activity followed by a colorimetric assay. Results showed that sposensor was efficient in detecting two different compounds, a metal (Zn(2+)) and a peptidic antibiotic (bacitracin). Owing to the stability and robustness of spores, sposensor is a very efficient and easy tool to manipulate for analyzing the presence of toxic compounds in natural settings.
- Published
- 2009
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