Design of Pb(II)-Specific E. coli-Based Biosensors by Engineering Regulatory Proteins and Host Cells.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial cell-based biosensors have been widely developed for detecting environmental toxic materials. The znt-operon in Escherichia coli is a Zn(II)-responsive genetic system and is employed in Zn(II), Cd(II), and Hg(II)-sensing biosensors. In this study, point mutations were introduced in the regulatory protein ZntR to modulate its target selectivity, and metal ion-exporting genes, such as copA and zntA, in host cells were deleted to increase cellular metal ion levels and enhance specificity. Thus, the overall responses of the E. coli cell-based biosensors toward metal(loid) ions were increased, and their selectivity, which was originally for Cd(II) and Hg(II), was shifted to Pb(II). The gene encoding ZntA, known as the Zn(II)-translocating P-type ATPa

SUBMITTER: Jeon Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9164158 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature