Engineered Bacteria Shine Light On Air Pollution | Chemical & Engineering News.
BEER SHEVA, Israel—Researchers have developed a simple and inexpensive device that uses bioluminescent bacteria to monitor air quality and alert to potentially unsafe conditions. If bacteria encounter hazardous substances in the environment, they launch a system to repair damaged DNA and maintain other functions, says Robert S. Marks of Israel’s Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. By adding the genes that make luciferase—a glow-inducing protein—to the same part of the bacteria’s genome as the microbial repair response, scientists have created bacteria that glow in response to chemicals that are toxic to cells. Marks’ team embedded engineered Escherichia coli in a small cylinder attached to a photomultiplier tube via a light guide, which directs light from the bacteria to the tube. The photomultiplier captures emitted photons and converts them into an electrical signal that the researchers can detect and analyze. The research team conducted successful tests using deliberate spills of acetone and chloroform. Marks hopes that by incorporating bacteria with different chemical sensitivities, he may eventually be able to identify which specific toxins are in the air with the device as well. The research is published in the journal Analytical Chemistry.
