Responses of fish chromatophore‐based cytosensor to a broad range of biological agents

Abstract

A cytosensor based on living chromatophores from Betta splendens Siamese fighting fish was used to test several classes of biologically active agents. Tested agents include neurotransmitters, adenyl cyclase activators, cytoskeleton effectors, cell membrane effectors and protein synthesis inhibitors. Characteristic cell responses were analyzed, and potential cytosensor applications were considered. Streptococcus pyogenes toxins streptolysin S and streptolysin O, Clostridium tetani tetanolysin, Staphylococcus aureus alpha-toxin and Vibrio parahemolyticus hemolysin, all bacterial toxins that act on cell membranes, elicited a strong response from chromatophores. A comparison of purified toxin to actual bacterial culture from Vibrio parahemolyticus demonstrated a nearly identical chromatophore cell response pattern. This suggests that the cytosensor response is reflective of bacterial toxin production.

Effect of cadmium chloride on general body colouration and chromatophores of stinging cat fish, Heteropneustes fossilis (Bloch)

“…The pigment can be either dispersed throughout the cell, which gives a dark appearance, or it can be aggregated around the nucleus, which gives a pale appearance (Bagnara and Hadley, 1973;Fujii, 2000 andAspengren et al, 2008). Chromatophore cells, a special class of pigment cells in cold blooded animals, have shown great potential in their use as a cell-based biosensor in the detection of a broad range of environmental toxicants (McFadden, 2002;Dierksen et al, 2004;Mojovic et al, 2004;Hutchison et al, 2008;Dukovcic, 2009;Dukovcic et al, 2010a;Dukovcic et al, 2010b andRoach, 2012). Chromatophore cells possess the motile pigment granules that intracellularly aggregate or disperse in response to external stimuli.…”

Current and Developing Technologies for Monitoring Agents of Bioterrorism and Biowarfare

“…The color change can be observed with a microscope or spectrophotometer. A biosensor incorporating chromatophores from fish has been developed and tested for its ability to detect harmful chemicals, biological toxins, toxin-producing pathogens, and other biologically active agents (53,75,259). One advantage of this biosensor is that the fish chromatophores do not grow and, therefore, the culture medium does not need to be replaced frequently.…”

Broadband Detection of Environmental Neurotoxicants

“…McFadden's group developed an assay based on chromatophores derived from the scales of particular species of fish, such as the Nile tilapia and Betta splendens (13,14). The chromatophore approach relies on microscopic changes in the optical properties of single cells induced through pigment granule distribution, which can be altered in the presence of some toxicants (15). A library of responses to a variety of toxicants has been developed for the chromatophores; this raises the possibility that this approach can be used to enable some level of classification (16).…”