51
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Park DM, Taffet MJ. Combinatorial Sensor Design in Caulobacter crescentus for Selective Environmental Uranium Detection. ACS Synth Biol 2019; 8:807-817. [PMID: 30897331 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.8b00484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The ability to detect uranium (U) through environmental monitoring is of critical importance for informing water resource protection and nonproliferation efforts. While technologies exist for environmental U detection, wide-area environmental monitoring, i.e. sampling coverage over large areas not known to possess U contamination, remains a challenging prospect that necessitates the development of novel detection approaches. Herein, we describe the development of a whole-cell U sensor by integrating two functionally independent, native U-responsive two-component signaling systems (TCS), UzcRS and UrpRS, within an AND gate circuit in the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. Through leverage of the distinct but imperfect selectivity profiles of both TCS, this combinatorial approach enabled greater selectivity relative to a prior biosensor developed with UzcRS alone; no cross-reactivity was observed with most common environmental metals (e.g, Fe, As, Cu, Ca, Mg, Cd, Cr, Al) or the U decay-chain product Th, and the selectivity against Zn and Pb was significantly improved. In addition, integration of the UzcRS signal amplifier protein UzcY within the AND gate circuit further enhanced overall sensitivity and selectivity for U. The functionality of the sensor in an environmental context was confirmed by detection of U concentrations as low as 1 μM in groundwater samples. The results highlight the value of a combinatorial approach for constructing whole-cell sensors for the selective detection of analytes for which there are no known evolved regulators.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan M. Park
- Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, Physical and Life Sciences Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, United States
| | - Michael J. Taffet
- Environmental Restoration Department (ERD), Operations and Business Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550, United States
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52
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Kim S, Kim H, Qiao T, Cha C, Lee SK, Lee K, Ro HJ, Kim Y, Lee W, Lee H. Fluorescence Enhancement from Nitro-Compound-Sensitive Bacteria within Spherical Hydrogel Scaffolds. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:14354-14361. [PMID: 30912429 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b02262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
For the safety of both production and life, it is a very significant issue to detect explosive nitro compounds in a remote way or over a long distance. Here, we report that nitro compounds were detected by the bacterial sensor based on hydrogel microbeads as a platform. Green fluorescent protein-producing Escherichia coli, which was genetically engineered to be sensitive to nitro compounds, was loaded within poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [poly(HEMA)]-based hydrogel beads, in which fluorescent signals from bacteria were concentrated and strong enough to be easily detected. For efficient loading of negatively charged bacteria, the surface charge of poly(HEMA)-based beads was controlled by copolymerization with 2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyltrimethylammonium chloride (MAETC) as a cationic monomer. With the addition of MAETC, the cell affinity was nine times enhanced by the interaction between the positively charged poly(HEMA- co-MAETC) beads and negatively charged bacteria. The increased cell affinity resulted in an enhancement of a sensing signal. After exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, a typical explosive nitro compound, the fluorescence intensity of bacterial sensors using poly(HEMA- co-MAETC) beads having 80 wt % MAETC was five times increased compared to those based on poly(HEMA) beads. This amplification of the fluorescent signal enables easier detection of explosives efficiently by a remote detection, even over a long distance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Wonmok Lee
- Department of Chemistry , Sejong University , 209, Neungdong-ro , Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 05006 , Republic of Korea
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53
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Wang J, Li H, Cai Y, Wang D, Bian L, Dong F, Yu H, He Y. Direct Blue Light-Induced Autocatalytic Oxidation of o-Phenylenediamine for Highly Sensitive Visual Detection of Triaminotrinitrobenzene. Anal Chem 2019; 91:6155-6161. [DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b00759] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jinhu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, Sichuan Co-Innovation Center for New Energetic Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, People’s Republic of China
| | - Hua Li
- Materials Characterization and Preparation Center, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yanhua Cai
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Environmental Materials and Remediation Technology, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Yongchuan 402160, People’s Republic of China
| | - Dunju Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, Sichuan Co-Innovation Center for New Energetic Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, People’s Republic of China
| | - Liang Bian
- Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Faqin Dong
- Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory Cultivation Base for Nonmetal Composites and Functional Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, Sichuan, People’s Republic of China
| | - Haili Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, Sichuan Co-Innovation Center for New Energetic Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, People’s Republic of China
| | - Yi He
- State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, Sichuan Co-Innovation Center for New Energetic Materials, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, People’s Republic of China
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54
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Wan X, Volpetti F, Petrova E, French C, Maerkl SJ, Wang B. Cascaded amplifying circuits enable ultrasensitive cellular sensors for toxic metals. Nat Chem Biol 2019; 15:540-548. [PMID: 30911179 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-019-0244-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 152] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Cell-based biosensors have great potential to detect various toxic and pathogenic contaminants in aqueous environments. However, frequently they cannot meet practical requirements due to insufficient sensing performance. To address this issue, we investigated a modular, cascaded signal amplifying methodology. We first tuned intracellular sensory receptor densities to increase sensitivity, and then engineered multi-layered transcriptional amplifiers to sequentially boost output expression level. We demonstrated these strategies by engineering ultrasensitive bacterial sensors for arsenic and mercury, and improved detection limit and output up to 5,000-fold and 750-fold, respectively. Coupled by leakage regulation approaches, we developed an encapsulated microbial sensor cell array for low-cost, portable and precise field monitoring, where the analyte can be readily quantified via displaying an easy-to-interpret volume bar-like pattern. The ultrasensitive signal amplifying methodology along with the background regulation and the sensing platform will be widely applicable to many other cell-based sensors, paving the way for their real-world applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinyi Wan
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Francesca Volpetti
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ekaterina Petrova
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Chris French
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sebastian J Maerkl
- Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Baojun Wang
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. .,Centre for Synthetic and Systems Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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55
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Hu J, Wang C, Liu R, Su Y, Lv Y. Poly(thymine)-CuNPs: Bimodal Methodology for Accurate and Selective Detection of TNT at Sub-PPT Levels. Anal Chem 2018; 90:14469-14474. [PMID: 30458612 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.8b04161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Accurate, sensitive, and selective detection of explosives is of vital importance in antiterrorism and homeland security. Fluorescence sensors are prevalent for sensitive and fast in-field explosive detection but are sometimes compromised by accuracy and stability due to the similar structures of explosives, photobleaching, and complex sample matrixes. Herein, we developed a first bimodal methodology capable of both sensitive in-field fluorescence detection and accurate laboratory mass spectrometric quantification of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) by utilizing the characteristic fluorescent and mass spectrometric response of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs). An excellent selectivity was also realized by involving aptamer recognition. The methodology is capable of detecting TNT at subpart per trillion (PPT) levels, with a detection limit of 0.32 pg mL-1 by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICPMS) and 0.17 ng mL-1 by fluorimetry. The signal response was accurate and stable for at least 60 days by ICPMS. Thanks to the biospecificity of the aptamer, this bimodal methodology is potentially applicable to a large panel of explosives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianyu Hu
- College of Architecture & Environment , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China
| | - Chaoqun Wang
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China
| | - Rui Liu
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China
| | - Yingying Su
- Analytical & Testing Center , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China
| | - Yi Lv
- Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry & Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China.,Analytical & Testing Center , Sichuan University , Chengdu 610064 , China
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56
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Abstract
Measuring biological data across time and space is critical for understanding complex biological processes and for various biosurveillance applications. However, such data are often inaccessible or difficult to directly obtain. Less invasive, more robust and higher-throughput biological recording tools are needed to profile cells and their environments. DNA-based cellular recording is an emerging and powerful framework for tracking intracellular and extracellular biological events over time across living cells and populations. Here, we review and assess DNA recorders that utilize CRISPR nucleases, integrases and base-editing strategies, as well as recombinase and polymerase-based methods. Quantitative characterization, modelling and evaluation of these DNA-recording modalities can guide their design and implementation for specific application areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ravi U Sheth
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Integrated Program in Cellular, Molecular and Biomedical Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Harris H Wang
- Department of Systems Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
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57
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de Lorenzo V, Prather KL, Chen GQ, O'Day E, von Kameke C, Oyarzún DA, Hosta-Rigau L, Alsafar H, Cao C, Ji W, Okano H, Roberts RJ, Ronaghi M, Yeung K, Zhang F, Lee SY. The power of synthetic biology for bioproduction, remediation and pollution control: The UN's Sustainable Development Goals will inevitably require the application of molecular biology and biotechnology on a global scale. EMBO Rep 2018; 19:embr.201745658. [PMID: 29581172 PMCID: PMC5891403 DOI: 10.15252/embr.201745658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The UN's Sustainable Development Goals present a challenge for biotechnology to develop new environmentally‐friendly and sustainable products and production processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Víctor de Lorenzo
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Systems Biology Program, National Center of Biotechnology CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Kristala Lj Prather
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Chemical Engineering, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Guo-Qiang Chen
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, MOE Lab for Industrial Biocatalysis, Tsinghua-Peking University Center of Life Sciences, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.,Center for Synthetic and Systems Biology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Elizabeth O'Day
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Olaris Therapeutics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Conrad von Kameke
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,BioInnovators Europe, Berlin, Germany
| | - Diego A Oyarzún
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Leticia Hosta-Rigau
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Micro- and Nanotechnology, Center for Nanomedicine and Theranostics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Habiba Alsafar
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Khalifa University Center for Biotechnology, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
| | - Cong Cao
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China
| | - Weizhi Ji
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hideyuki Okano
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Richard J Roberts
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,New England Biolabs, Ipswich, MA, USA
| | - Mostafa Ronaghi
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Karen Yeung
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,The Centre for Technology, Ethics, Law, & Society, Law School, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Feng Zhang
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.,McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA.,Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sang Yup Lee
- Global Future Council on the Future of Biotechnologies, World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland.,Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 Plus Program), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea.,The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Biosustainability, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark
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58
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Sharifian S, Homaei A, Hemmati R, B Luwor R, Khajeh K. The emerging use of bioluminescence in medical research. Biomed Pharmacother 2018; 101:74-86. [PMID: 29477474 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2018.02.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Bioluminescence is the light produced by a living organism and is commonly emitted by sea life with Ca2+-regulated photoproteins being the most responsible for bioluminescence emission. Marine coelenterates provide important functions involved in essential purposes such as defense, feeding, and breeding. In this review, the main characteristics of marine photoproteins including aequorin, clytin, obelin, berovin, pholasin and symplectin from different marine organisms will be discussed. We will focused on the recent use of recombinant photoproteins in different biomedical research fields including the measurement of Ca2+ in different intracellular compartments of animal cells, as labels in the design and development of binding assays. This review will also outline how bioluminescent photoproteins have been used in a plethora of analytical methods including ultra-sensitive assays and in vivo imaging of cellular processes. Due to their unique properties including elective intracellular distribution, wide dynamic range, high signal-to-noise ratio and low Ca2+-buffering effect, recombinant photoproteins represent a promising future analytical tool in several in vitro and in vivo experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sana Sharifian
- Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran
| | - Ahmad Homaei
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran.
| | - Roohullah Hemmati
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Basic Sciences, Shahrekord University, Shahrekord, Iran
| | - Rodney B Luwor
- Department of Surgery, Level 5, Clinical Sciences Building, The University of Melbourne, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Grattan Street, Parkville, VIC 3050, Australia
| | - Khosro Khajeh
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
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59
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Aerobic Transformation of 2,4-Dinitrotoluene by Escherichia coli and Its Implications for the Detection of Trace Explosives. Appl Environ Microbiol 2018; 84:AEM.01729-17. [PMID: 29222096 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01729-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 11/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
DNT (2,4-dinitrotoluene), a volatile impurity in military-grade 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)-based explosives, is a potential tracer for the detection of buried landmines and other explosive devices. We have previously described an Escherichia coli bioreporter strain engineered to detect traces of DNT and have demonstrated that the yqjF gene promoter, the sensing element of this bioreporter, is induced not by DNT but by at least one of its transformation products. In the present study, we have characterized the initial stages of DNT biotransformation in E. coli, have identified the key metabolic products in this reductive pathway, and demonstrate that the main DNT metabolite that induces yqjF is 2,4,5-trihydroxytoluene. We further show that E. coli cannot utilize DNT as a sole carbon or nitrogen source and propose that this compound is metabolized in order to neutralize its toxicity to the cells.IMPORTANCE The information provided in this article sheds new light both on the microbial biodegradability of nitroaromatic compounds and on the metabolic capabilities of E. coli By doing so, it also clarifies the pathway leading to the previously unexplained induction of the E. coli yqjF gene by 2,4-dinitrotoluene, an impurity that accompanies 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT)-based explosives. Our improved understanding of these processes will serve to molecularly enhance the performance of a previously described microbial bioreporter of buried landmines and other explosive devices, in which the yqjF gene promoter serves as the sensing element.
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60
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Drachuk I, Harbaugh S, Geryak R, Kaplan DL, Tsukruk VV, Kelley-Loughnane N. Immobilization of Recombinant E. coli Cells in a Bacterial Cellulose–Silk Composite Matrix To Preserve Biological Function. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2017; 3:2278-2292. [DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.7b00367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Irina Drachuk
- UES Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia
Road, Dayton, Ohio 45432, United States
- Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Airmen Systems Directorate, 2510 Fifth Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States
| | - Svetlana Harbaugh
- The Henry M. Jackson Foundation, 6720A Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland 20817, United States
- Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Airmen Systems Directorate, 2510 Fifth Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States
| | - Ren Geryak
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - David L. Kaplan
- Department
of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, 4 Colby Street, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States
| | - Vladimir V. Tsukruk
- School
of Materials Science and Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 771 Ferst Drive NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, United States
| | - Nancy Kelley-Loughnane
- Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Human Performance Wing, Airmen Systems Directorate, 2510 Fifth Street, Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio 45433, United States
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61
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Sharifian S, Homaei A, Hemmati R, Khajeh K. Light emission miracle in the sea and preeminent applications of bioluminescence in recent new biotechnology. JOURNAL OF PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY B-BIOLOGY 2017; 172:115-128. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2017.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/16/2017] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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62
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Shemer B, Koshet O, Yagur-Kroll S, Belkin S. Microbial bioreporters of trace explosives. Curr Opin Biotechnol 2017; 45:113-119. [PMID: 28319855 DOI: 10.1016/j.copbio.2017.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2016] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Since its introduction as an explosive in the late 19th century, 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), along with other explosive compounds, has left numerous environmental marks. One of these is widespread soil and water pollution by trace explosives in military proving grounds, manufacturing facilities, or actual battlefields. Another dramatic impact is that exerted by the millions of landmines and other explosive devices buried in large parts of the world, causing extensive loss of life, injuries, and economical damage. In this review we highlight recent advances in the design and construction of microbial bioreporters, molecularly engineered to generate a quantifiable dose-dependent signal in the presence of trace amounts of explosives. Such sensor strains may be employed for monitoring environmental pollution as well as for the remote detection of buried landmines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Shemer
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ori Koshet
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Sharon Yagur-Kroll
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Shimshon Belkin
- Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, The Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.
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