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Huang Z, Gustave W, Bai S, Li Y, Li B, Elçin E, Jiang B, Jia Z, Zhang X, Shaheen SM, He F. Challenges and opportunities in commercializing whole-cell bioreporters in environmental application. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 262:119801. [PMID: 39147190 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.119801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2024] [Revised: 08/08/2024] [Accepted: 08/13/2024] [Indexed: 08/17/2024]
Abstract
Since the initial introduction of whole-cell bioreporters (WCBs) nearly 30 years ago, their high sensitivity, selectivity, and suitability for on-site detection have rendered them highly promising for environmental monitoring, medical diagnosis, food safety, biomanufacturing, and other fields. Especially in the environmental field, the technology provides a fast and efficient way to assess the bioavailability of pollutants in the environment. Despite these advantages, the technology has not been commercialized. This lack of commercialization is confusing, given the broad application prospects of WCBs. Over the years, numerous research papers have focused primarily on enhancing the sensitivity and selectivity of WCBs, with little attention paid to their wider commercial applications. So far, there is no a critical review has been published yet on this topic. Therefore, in this article we critically reviewed the research progress of WCBs over the past three decades, assessing the performance and limitations of current systems to understand the barriers to commercial deployment. By identifying these obstacles, this article provided researchers and industry stakeholders with deeper insights into the challenges hindering market entry and inspire further research toward overcoming these barriers, thereby facilitating the commercialization of WCBs as a promising technology for environmental monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zefeng Huang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Williamson Gustave
- School of Chemistry, Environmental & Life Sciences, University of the Bahamas, Nassau, 4912, Bahamas
| | - Shanshan Bai
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Yongshuo Li
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Boling Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215123, China; Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA
| | - Evrim Elçin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Division of Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, 09970, Turkey
| | - Bo Jiang
- School of Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Zhemin Jia
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
| | - Xiaokai Zhang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China.
| | - Sabry M Shaheen
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water- and Waste-Management, Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany; King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Department of Agriculture, 21589 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; University of Kafrelsheikh, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, 33516, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt
| | - Feng He
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environment and Ecology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, China
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Zhang X, Zhu Y, Elçin E, He L, Li B, Jiang M, Yang X, Yan XP, Zhao X, Wang Z, Wang F, Shaheen SM, Rinklebe J, Wells M. Whole-cell bioreporter application for rapid evaluation of hazardous metal bioavailability and toxicity in bioprocess. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2024; 461:132556. [PMID: 37757563 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.132556] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
Assessing heavy metal bioavailability and toxicity during bioprocess is critical for advancing green biotechnology. The capability of whole-cell bioreporters to measure heavy metal bioavailability has been increasingly recognized. The advantages of this technology being applied to bioprocess monitoring are less studied. Here we investigate the potential of a cadmium- and lead-sensitive bioreporter to be used for heavy metals as a class, which holds great interest for bioprocess applications. We evaluated the bioavailability of eight individual heavy metals with bioreporter zntA, as well as the bioavailability and toxicity of mixed metals. The bioavailability and toxicity of heavy metals in bioprocess samples were also evaluated. We have demonstrated for the first time that the zntA bioreporter can effectively detect the bioavailability of zinc, nickel, and cobalt with limit of detection lower than 0.01, 0.08 and 0.5 mg·L-1, respectively. The detection limits meet the requirements of the WHO, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the China drinking water quality standards, which makes this approach reasonable for monitoring heavy metal bioavailability in bioprocess. LIVE/DEAD toxicity experiments have been conducted for the detection of mixed metal solution toxicity to zntA bioreporter which shows an EC50 (as EC50, concentration for 50% of maximal effect) value of mixed metal solution is 3.84 mg·L-1. Samples from wastewater treatment plants, sludge treatment plants and kitchen waste fermentation processes were analyzed to extend upon the laboratory results. The results of this study confirm the potential for practical applications of bioreporter technology in bioprocess monitoring. In turn, development for such practical applications is key to achieve the necessary level of commercialization to further make the routine use of bioreporters in bioprocess monitoring feasible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaokai Zhang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yi Zhu
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Evrim Elçin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Division of Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın 09970, Turkey
| | - Lizhi He
- Key Laboratory of Soil Contamination Bioremediation of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang A & F University, Lin'an 311300, China
| | - Boling Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Mengyuan Jiang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xing Yang
- Key Laboratory of Agro-Forestry Environmental Processes and Ecological Regulation of Hainan Province, School of Ecology and Environment, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
| | - Xiu-Ping Yan
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Xu Zhao
- School of Food Science and Technology, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China.
| | - Fang Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Soil Environment and Pollution Remediation, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Sabry M Shaheen
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water, andWaste-Management, Laboratory of Soil, and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany; King Abdulaziz University, Faculty of Meteorology, Environment, and Arid Land Agriculture, Department of Arid Land Agriculture, 21589 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; University of Kafrelsheikh, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Soil and Water Sciences, 33516, Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt
| | - Jörg Rinklebe
- University of Wuppertal, School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Institute of Foundation Engineering, Water, andWaste-Management, Laboratory of Soil, and Groundwater-Management, Pauluskirchstraße 7, 42285 Wuppertal, Germany
| | - Mona Wells
- The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA; Natural Sciences, Ronin Institute, Montclair, New Jersey 07043, USA
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Zhang X, Zhu Y, Li B, Tefsen B, Wang Z, Wells M. We need to plan streamlined environmental impact assessment for the future X-Press Pearl disasters. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2023; 188:114705. [PMID: 36791553 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The X-Press Pearl disaster illustrates the urgent needs for streamlined environmental impact assessment to inform decision making. The environmental contamination caused by the disaster is complex, and the biological impact of different environmental stressors, and at different biological scales, needs to be determined. Traditional methods for analyzing complex environmental stressors are often inefficient and do not reflect the biological impact of pollution. The combination of chemical stressors and biological impacts is the key to environmental impact assessment based on integrated monitoring. Whole-cell bioreporters are tools for rapid, efficient and quantitative detection of the bioavailability, stressor effects, and toxicity of pollutants, i.e., spanning a wide range of applications. Here we propose the view that using whole-cell bioreporter technology to streamline short-term environmental impact assessment for maritime disasters such as the X-Press Pearl is more fit-for-purpose/practical than other approaches in use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaokai Zhang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Yi Zhu
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China
| | - Boling Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Boris Tefsen
- Department of Molecular Microbiology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, CH Utrecht 3584, Netherlands; Natural Sciences, Ronin Institute, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Jiangnan University, Wuxi 214122, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Technology and Material of Water Treatment, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou 215009, China
| | - Mona Wells
- Natural Sciences, Ronin Institute, Montclair, NJ 07043, USA; The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
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Zhu Y, Elcin E, Jiang M, Li B, Wang H, Zhang X, Wang Z. Use of whole-cell bioreporters to assess bioavailability of contaminants in aquatic systems. Front Chem 2022; 10:1018124. [PMID: 36247665 PMCID: PMC9561917 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.1018124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 09/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Water contamination has become increasingly a critical global environmental issue that threatens human and ecosystems’ health. Monitoring and risk assessment of toxic pollutants in water bodies is essential to identifying water pollution treatment needs. Compared with the traditional monitoring approaches, environmental biosensing via whole-cell bioreporters (WCBs) has exhibited excellent capabilities for detecting bioavailability of multiple pollutants by providing a fast, simple, versatile and economical way for environmental risk assessment. The performance of WCBs is determined by its elements of construction, such as host strain, regulatory and reporter genes, as well as experimental conditions. Previously, numerous studies have focused on the design and construction of WCB rather than improving the detection process and commercialization of this technology. For investigators working in the environmental field, WCB can be used to detect pollutants is more important than how they are constructed. This work provides a review of the development of WCBs and a brief introduction to genetic construction strategies and aims to summarize key studies on the application of WCB technology in detection of water contaminants, including organic pollutants and heavy metals. In addition, the current status of commercialization of WCBs is highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi Zhu
- School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Evrim Elcin
- Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Division of Enzyme and Microbial Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey
| | - Mengyuan Jiang
- School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
| | - Boling Li
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, Suzhou, China
| | - Hailong Wang
- Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, China
| | - Xiaokai Zhang
- School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
- *Correspondence: Xiaokai Zhang,
| | - Zhenyu Wang
- School of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Institute of Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, China
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