Whole-Cell Microbial Bioreporter for Soil Contaminants Detection

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities have released various contaminants into soil that pose a serious threat to the ecosystem and human well-being. Compared to conventional analytical methodologies, microbial cell-based bioreporters are offering a flexible, rapid, and cost-effective strategy to assess the environmental risks. This review aims to summarize the recent progress in the application of bioreporters in soil contamination detection and provide insight into the challenges and current strategies. The biosensing principles and genetic circuit engineering are introduced. Developments of bioreporters to detect and quantify heavy metal and organic contaminants in soil are reviewed. Moreover, future opportunities of whole-cell bioreporters for soil contamination monitoring are discussed.

Chromogenic Escherichia coli reporter strain for screening DNA damaging agents

“…They monitor several compounds identified as pollutants and health hazards by generating a specific response. They have served to quantify specific damage, for example, DNA damage during exposure to xenobiotic compounds or even explosives (Quillardet and Hofnung 1993 ; Vasilieva 2002 ; Sphigel et al 2021 ; Zeng et al 2021 ).…”

“…Escherichia coli is an organism that has been extensively studied in all aspects of its physiology (Vargas-Maya and Franco 2017 ). Recently, it has become an essential bioreporter due to the numerous molecules that have been detected using it as a host for reporter constructs (Robbens et al 2010 ; Zeng et al 2021 ). Although, limitations to its resistance to extreme conditions limit its use for studying complex samples such as soil and water.…”

“…Several reports show that bacteria bearing a plasmid or chromosomal fusion of the recA promoter to the coding sequence of reporter proteins, are sensitive to DNA damaging agents and show an acceptable detection threshold. This type of reporter strains are fast and high throughput tools for screening soil and water samples (Woutersen et al 2011 ; Vollmer et al 1997 ; Padilla-Martínez et al 2015 ; Chen et al 2012 ; Martineau et al 2009 ; Østergaard et al 2007 ; Zeng et al 2021 ). Also, lacZ is currently used as a reporter in reporter strains for determining mutagenicity in bacteria (Vasilieva 2002 ).…”

Strategies for Improving Small-Molecule Biosensors in Bacteria

“…For these applications, luminescent reporters are typically preferred [ 152 ], though near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent proteins can also be used [ 153 ]. In another example, certain applications (such as soil sample contaminant detection) can require a biosensor to function under anaerobic conditions [ 154 ]. As oxygen is required for luciferase activity and for correct maturation of most fluorescent proteins [ 155 ], reporters known to function normally within anaerobic environments (such as lacZ ) are preferred for these applications [ 154 ].…”

“…In another example, certain applications (such as soil sample contaminant detection) can require a biosensor to function under anaerobic conditions [ 154 ]. As oxygen is required for luciferase activity and for correct maturation of most fluorescent proteins [ 155 ], reporters known to function normally within anaerobic environments (such as lacZ ) are preferred for these applications [ 154 ]. In studies using biosensors for metabolic or genetic engineering, the use of selection markers as reporters is typically preferred, although fluorescent proteins can also provide an effective choice particularly when paired with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) methods [ 8 , 156 ].…”