ABSTRACT
Genetically engineered reporter bacteria have been developed over
the past 30 years for the detection of diverse compounds in water,
air soil and other matrices [1]. Reporter bacteria are molecularly
modified to generate a dose-dependent quantifiable signal, emitted
by a reporter protein, when exposed to predetermined biologically
active stimuli (a chemical, a class of chemicals, or a stress factor).
Such sensor bacteria hold great promise for future monitoring
purposes due to their simplicity, low cost and facilitated genetic
tailoring to specific applications. The system is usually engineered
by fusing a sensor element, for example a gene promoter sequence
anticipated to be induced by the target stimulus, to a reporter
gene(s) [2-4]. One of the most commonly used reporter systems
is the bacterial bioluminescence genes luxCDABE from Aliivibrio fischeri, Photorhabdus luminescens or other luminescent bacteria [5, 6]. The use of the luxCDABE genes is advantageous in that it alleviates the need for external substrate addition.
