Rapid detection of genotoxicity employing an engineered high-sensitivity and tight SOS-response biosensor in <i>Escherichia coli</i> MG1655.

ABSTRACT: Industrial wastewater and pesticide residues contain numerous genotoxic compounds that pose serious health risks by causing DNA damage and potentially triggering carcinogenesis. Conventional analytical methods such as chromatography and mass spectrometry are limited by high costs, technical complexity, and lengthy procedures, making them unsuitable for rapid, large-scale screening. To address this need, we developed a fluorescence-based SOS-responsive whole-cell biosensor (SRWCB) by integrating the P _sulA promoter with superfolder GFP (sfGFP). Through directed evolution of the lexA binding motif in P _sulA , we obtained an optimized variant (P55) with significantly enhanced sensitivity-being 8.5 times more sensitive than the commonly used P

SUBMITTER: Yuan X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12492662 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature