Biotechnology and Bioinformatics (1+1)

6.5.2.1. Prokaryotic biosensors

Bacteria can be used as biosensors to demonstrate the toxicity of a variety of environmental media including soil, sediment, and water by coupling bacteria to transducers that convert a cellular response into detectable signals. These bacterial biosensors are engineered by pairing a reporter gene that generates a signal with a contaminant-sensing component that responds to chemical or physical change, such as exposure to a specific analyte. When the biosensor is exposed to such a change, the sensing component stimulates the reporter gene through a biochemical pathway in the cell. The reporter gene then produces a measurable response, such as emitting visible light, which is indicative of the degree of chemical or physical change.