Two highly specific growth-coupled biosensor for glycolaldehyde detection across micromolar and millimolar concentrations.

ABSTRACT: Glycolaldehyde (GA), the smallest sugar, has significant potential as a biomass-derived platform chemical and is a key metabolite in several synthetic pathways for one-carbon metabolism and new-to-nature photorespiration. This study introduces two metabolic schemes for engineering Escherichia coli into GA biosensors. Through creating GA-dependent auxotrophies, we link growth of these strains to GA-dependent biosynthesis of the essential vitamin pyridoxal-5-phosphate, and 2-ketoglutarate, respectively. We characterized and optimized these strains for the quantification of externally added GA from 2 µM to 1.5 mM. We also demonstrate the capability of these strains to detect GA that is produced intracellularly through different metabolic routes and from different substrates such as xyl

SUBMITTER: Gomez-Coronado PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12022395 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature