The use of whole-cell living biosensors to determine the bioavailability of pollutants to microorganisms

摘要

To study the bioavailability of pollutants in a direct way, whole-cell living biosensors can be used. These are genetically constructed microorganisms, which upon sensing (bioavailable) pollutant concentrations express and easy detectable signal and may or may not degrade the pollutant as well. Biosensors are constructed by combining a sensor element (the regulatory protein) with a reporter gene fused to an inducible promoter.