Reporter Proteins in Whole-Cell Optical Bioreporter Detection Systems, Biosensor Integrations, and Biosensing Applications

Abstract

Whole-cell, genetically modified bioreporters are designed to emit detectable signals in response to a target analyte or related group of analytes. When integrated with a transducer capable of measuring those signals, a biosensor results that acts as a self-contained analytical system useful in basic and applied environmental, medical, pharmacological, and agricultural sciences. Historically, these devices have focused on signaling proteins such as green fluorescent protein, aequorin, firefly luciferase, and/or bacterial luciferase. The biochemistry and genetic development of these sensor systems as well as the advantages, challenges, and common applications of each one will be discussed.

Biologically Inspired Bio-Cyber Interface Architecture and Model for Internet of Bio-NanoThings Applications

“…7(b) can be used. The cellular structure can be a bioluminescent bioreporter [39][40][41][42] that produces a reporter protein, which in this case is a luciferase (LU), on excitation by an analyte. The bioreporter can be developed by engineering LU genes genetically in other living cells [43].…”

Screening of promoter-specific transcription factors: multiple regulators for the sdiA gene involved in cell division control and quorum sensing

“…To confirm the regulatory roles of test TFs, we next performed a more sensitive reporter assay using a singlecopy vector of the bacterial luciferase, which catalyses a bioluminescent oxidation of reduced flavin mononucleotides (Close et al, 2009). The sdiA promoter-lux reporter vector was transformed into wild-type E. coli and mutants, each lacking one test TF gene except for the arcA-defective mutant, into which the sdiA-lux plasmid could not be transformed.…”

Expression of Non-Native Genes in a Surrogate Host Organism

“…The turnover of this reaction is extremely slow, with the process taking as long as 20 sec at 20°C (Hastings & Nealson, 1977). Reproduced with permission from (Close et al, 2009) While these genes are widely distributed in prokaryotic organisms, the bioluminescent system they encode for is quite distinct from those commonly found in eukaryotes, such as the firefly or Renilla luciferase systems. Unlike these eukaryotic bioluminescence systems, the lux system is organized as a single operon, with all of the genes required for bioluminescent production driven from a single promoter.…”

“…The bacterial luciferase (lux) gene cassette is a series of five genes whose protein products synergistically work together to produce a luminescent signal at 490 nm in the blue range of the visible spectrum (Close et al, 2009). Two of the five genes (luxA and luxB) form the heterodimeric luciferase protein, while the remaining three genes (luxC, luxD, and luxE) are responsible for the production of a long chain aliphatic aldehyde co-substrate upon which the luciferase protein acts (Meighen, 1991).…”