A model that uses the induction phase of lux gene-dependent bioluminescence in Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44 to quantify cell density in translucent porous media

Quantifying bacterial concentration in water and sand media during flow-through experiments using a non-invasive, real-time, and efficient method

Monitoring the dynamics of bacteria in porous media is of great significance to understand the bacterial transport and the interplay between bacteria and environmental factors. In this study, we reported a non-invasive, real-time, and efficient method to quantify bioluminescent bacterial concentration in water and sand media during flow-through experiments. First, 27 column experiments were conducted, and the bacterial transport was monitored using a real-time bioluminescent imaging system. Next, we quantified the bacterial concentration in water and sand media using two methods-viable count and bioluminescent count. The principle of the bioluminescent count in sand media was, for a given bioluminescence image, the total number of bacteria was proportionally allocated to each segment according to its bioluminescence intensity. We then compared the bacterial concentration for the two methods and found a good linear correlation between the bioluminescent count and viable count. Finally, the effects of porous media surface coating, pore water velocity, and ionic strength on the bioluminescent count in sand media were investigated, and the results showed that the bioluminescence counting accuracy was most affected by surface coating, followed by ionic strength, and was hardly affected by pore water velocity. Overall, the study proved that the bioluminescent count was a reliable method to quantify bacterial concentration in water (10⁶ to 2 × 10⁸ cell mL^-1) or sand media (5 × 10⁶-5 × 10⁸ cell cm^-3). This approach also offers a new way of thinking for in situ bacterial enumeration in two-dimensional devices such as 2D flow cells, microfluidic devices, and rhizoboxes.

Using bacterial bioluminescence to evaluate the impact of biofilm on porous media hydraulic properties

Biofilm formation in natural and engineered porous systems can significantly impact hydrodynamics by reducing porosity and permeability. To better understand and characterize how biofilms influence hydrodynamic properties in porous systems, the genetically engineered bioluminescent bacterial strain Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44 was used to quantify microbial population characteristics and biofilm properties in a translucent porous medium. Power law relationships were found to exist between bacterial bioluminescence and cell density, fraction of void space occupied by biofilm (i.e. biofilm saturation), and hydraulic conductivity. The simultaneous evaluation of biofilm saturation and porous medium hydraulic conductivity in real time using a non-destructive approach enabled the construction of relative hydraulic conductivity curves. Such information can facilitate simulation studies related to biological activity in porous structures, and support the development of new models to describe the dynamic behavior of biofilm and fluid flow in porous media. The bioluminescence based approach described here will allow for improved understanding and control of industrially relevant processes such as biofiltration and bioremediation.

Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44: lessons learned from a model whole-cell bioreporter with a broad application history

Initially described in 1990, Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44 served as the first whole-cell bioreporter genetically endowed with a bioluminescent (luxCDABE) phenotype directly linked to a catabolic (naphthalene degradative) pathway. HK44 was the first genetically engineered microorganism to be released in the field to monitor bioremediation potential. Subsequent to that release, strain HK44 had been introduced into other solids (soils, sands), liquid (water, wastewater), and volatile environments. In these matrices, it has functioned as one of the best characterized chemically-responsive environmental bioreporters and as a model organism for understanding bacterial colonization and transport, cell immobilization strategies, and the kinetics of cellular bioluminescent emission. This review summarizes the characteristics of P. fluorescens HK44 and the extensive range of its applications with special focus on the monitoring of bioremediation processes and biosensing of environmental pollution.

Real time monitoring of biofilm development under flow conditions in porous media

Biofilm growth can impact the effectiveness of industrial processes that involve porous media. To better understand and characterize how biofilms develop and affect hydraulic properties in porous media, both spatial and temporal development of biofilms under flow conditions was investigated in a translucent porous medium by using Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44, a bacterial strain genetically engineered to luminesce in the presence of an induction agent. Real-time visualization of luminescent biofilm growth patterns under constant pressure conditions was captured using a CCD camera. Images obtained over 8 days revealed that variations in bioluminescence intensity could be correlated to biofilm cell density and hydraulic conductivity. These results were used to develop a real-time imaging method to study the dynamic behavior of biofilm evolution in a porous medium, thereby providing a new tool to investigate the impact of biological fouling in porous media under flow conditions.

Response of the bioluminescent bioreporterPseudomonas fluorescens HK44 to analogs of naphthalene and salicylic acid

Pseudomonasfluorescens HK44 is a lux-based bioluminescent bioreporter capable of selective luminescence in the presence of naphthalene and/or salicylic acid intermediate of its metabolism. We attempted to induce bioluminescence (BL) in this strain with 72 compounds, viz. substituted naphthalenes, naphthalene-like compounds (e.g., quinoline), substituted salicylic acids, salicylic acid-like compounds (e.g., 2-anthranilic acid), oligocyclic aromates, and intermediates of naphthalene metabolism to better discriminate response specificity. From them, 42 induced BL significantly lower as compared to naphthalene, three (viz. isoquinoline, o-cresol, and salicylamide) induced BL significantly greater than naphthalene, and 27 yielded no bioluminescent response whatsoever. Strain HK44 is therefore not prone to extensive false-positive signaling and can serve as a fairly specific indicator organism for naphthalene bioavailability. At elevated concentrations, 41 compounds inhibited BL. Thus, the inclusion of constitutive bioreporter controls as indicators of sample toxicity is vital to successful biosensing application.

Noninvasive quantitative measurement of colloid transport in mesoscale porous media using time lapse fluorescence imaging

We demonstrate noninvasive quantitative imaging of colloid and solute transport at millimeter to decimeter (meso-) scale. Ultraviolet (UV) excited fluorescent solute and colloid tracers were independently measured simultaneously during co-advection through saturated quartz sand. Pulse-input experiments were conducted at constant flow rates and ionic strengths 10(-3), 10(-2) and 10(-1) M NaCl. Tracers were 1.9 microm carboxylate latex microspheres and disodium fluorescein. Spatial moments analysis was used to quantify relative changes in mass distribution of the colloid and solute tracers over time. The solute advected through the sand at a constant velocity proportional to flow rate and was described well by a conservative transport model (CXTFIT). In unfavorable deposition conditions increasing ionic strength produced significant reduction in colloid center of mass transport velocity over time. Velocity trends correlated with the increasing fraction of colloid mass retained along the flowpath. Attachment efficiencies (defined by colloid filtration theory) calculated from nondestructive retained mass data were 0.013 +/- 0.03, 0.09 +/- 0.02, and 0.22 +/- 0.05 at 10(-3), 10(-2), and 10(-1) M ionic strength, respectively, which compared well with previously published data from breakthrough curves and destructive sampling. Mesoscale imaging of colloid mass dynamics can quantify key deposition and transport parameters based on noninvasive, nondestructive, spatially high-resolution data.

Illuminating reactive microbial transport in saturated porous media: demonstration of a visualization method and conceptual transport model

We demonstrate a method to study reactive microbial transport in saturated translucent porous media using the bacteria Pseudomonas fluorescens 5RL genetically engineered to carry a plasmid with bioluminescence genes inducible by salicylate. Induced bacteria were injected into a cryolite grain filled chamber saturated with a sterile non-growth-promoting (phosphorus limited) chemical mixture containing salicylate as an aromatic hydrocarbon analogue. The amount of light produced by the bacteria serves as an estimator of the relative efficiency of aerobic biodegradation since bioluminescence is dependent on both salicylate and oxygen but only consumes oxygen. Bioluminescence was captured with a digital camera and analyzed to study the evolving spatial pattern of the bulk oxygen consuming reactions. As fluid flow transported the bacteria through the chamber, bioluminescence was observed to initially increase until an oxygen depletion zone developed behind the advective front. Bacterial transport was modeled with the advection dispersion equation and oxygen concentration was modeled assuming bacterial consumption via Monod kinetics with consideration of additional effects of rate-limited mass transfer from residual gas bubbles. Consistent with previous measurements, bioluminescence was considered proportional to oxygen consumed. Using the observed bioluminescence, model parameters were fit that were consistent with literature values and produced results in good agreement with the experimental data. These findings demonstrate potential for using this method to investigate the complex spatial and temporal dynamics of reactive microbial transport in saturated porous media.

Development of a high throughput Pseudomonas aeruginosa epithelial cell adhesion assay

Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonizes the lungs of cystic fibrosis and mechanically ventilated patients by binding to specific carbohydrate residues on the surface of lung epithelial cells. Studies have shown that blocking this interaction may have therapeutic effects in vivo. To test compounds that may have an effect on the binding of P. aeruginosa to epithelial cells, we have developed a pseudomonal adhesion assay that is compatible with high throughput technology. This assay utilizes a 96-well culture plate assay and P. aeruginosa strains that have been modified to bioluminesce. This method has proven to be a rapid, sensitive and reproducible system for screening agents that inhibit bacterial adhesion.

Bioreporter pseudomonas fluorescens HK44 immobilized in a silica matrix

The bioluminescent bioreporter Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44, the whole cell bacterial biosensor that responds to naphthalene and its metabolites via the production of visible light, was immobilized into a silica matrix by the sol-gel technique. The bioluminescence intensities were measured in the maximum of the bioluminescence band at X = 500 nm. The immobilized cells (>105 cells per g silica matrix) produced light after induction by salicylate (cone. > 10 g/l), naphthalene and aminobenzoic acid. The bioluminescence intensities induced by 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene 3-hydroxybenzoic acid and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid were comparable to a negative control. The cells in the silica layers on glass slides produced light in response to the presence of an inductor at least 8 months after immobilization, and >50 induction cycles. The results showed that these test slides could be used as assays for the multiple determination of water pollution.

Noninvasive quantitative measurement of bacterial growth in porous media under unsaturated-flow conditions

Glucose-dependent growth of the luxCDABE reporter bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens HK44 was monitored noninvasively in quartz sand under unsaturated-flow conditions within a 45- by 56- by 1-cm two-dimensional light transmission chamber. The spatial and temporal development of growth were mapped daily over 7 days by quantifying salicylate-induced bioluminescence. A nonlinear model relating the rate of increase in light emission after salicylate exposure to microbial density successfully predicted growth over 4 orders of magnitude (r(2) = 0.95). Total model-predicted growth agreed with growth calculated from the mass balance of the system by using previously established growth parameters of HK44 (predicted, 1.2 x 10(12) cells; calculated, 1.7 x 10(12) cells). Colonization expanded in all directions from the inoculation region, including upward migration against the liquid flow. Both the daily rate of expansion of the colonized zone and the population density of the first day's growth in each newly colonized region remained relatively constant throughout the experiment. Nonetheless, substantial growth continued to occur on subsequent days in the older regions of the colonized zone. The proportion of daily potential growth that remained within the chamber declined progressively between days 2 and 7 (from 97 to 13%). A densely populated, anoxic region developed in the interior of the colonized zone even though the sand was unsaturated and fresh growth medium continued to flow through the colonized zone. These data illustrate the potential of a light transmission chamber, bioluminescent bacteria, and sensitive digital camera technology to noninvasively study real-time hydrology-microbiology interactions associated with unsaturated flow in porous media.