Development of a whole cell biosensor for detection of 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) producing bacteria from grassland soil

Fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. producing the antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) are ecologically important in the rhizosphere as they can control phytopathogens and contribute to disease suppressiveness. DAPG can also trigger a systemic resistance response in plants and stimulate root exudation and branching as well as induce plant-beneficial activities in other rhizobacteria. While studies of DAPG-producing Pseudomonas have predominantly focused on rhizosphere niches, the ecological role of DAPG as well as the distribution and dynamics of DAPG-producing bacteria remains less well understood for other environments such as bulk soil and grassland, where the level of DAPG producers are predicted to be low. Here, we construct a whole cell biosensor for detection of DAPG and DAPG-producing bacteria from environmental samples. The constructed biosensor contains a phlF response module and either lacZ or lux genes as output modules assembled on a pSEVA plasmid backbone for easy transfer to different host species and to enable easy future genetic modifications. We show that the sensor is highly specific toward DAPG, with a sensitivity in the low nanomolar range (>20 nM). This sensitivity is comparable to the DAPG levels identified in rhizosphere samples by chemical analysis. The biosensor enables guided isolation of DAPG-producing Pseudomonas. Using the biosensor, we probed the same grassland soil sampling site to isolate genetically related DAPG-producing Pseudomonas kilonensis strains over a period of 12 months. Next, we used the biosensor to determine the frequency of DAPG-producing Pseudomonads within three different grassland soil sites and show that DAPG producers can constitute part of the Pseudomonas population in the range of 0.35-17% at these sites. Finally, we show that the biosensor enables detection of DAPG produced by non-Pseudomonas species. Our studies show that a whole-cell biosensor for DAPG detection can facilitate isolation of bacteria that produce this important secondary metabolite and provide insight into the population dynamics of DAPG producers in natural grassland soil. IMPORTANCE The interest has grown for bacterial biocontrol agents as biosustainable alternatives to pesticides to increase crop yields. To date, we have a broad knowledge of antimicrobial compounds, such as DAPG, produced by bacteria growing in the rhizosphere surrounding plant roots. However, compared to the rhizosphere niches, the ecological role of DAPG as well as the distribution and dynamics of DAPG-producing bacteria remains less well understood for other environments such as bulk and grassland soil. Currently, we are restricted to chemical methods with detection limits and time-consuming PCR-based and probe-hybridization approaches to detect DAPG and its respective producer. In this study, we have developed a whole-cell biosensor, which can circumvent the labor-intensive screening process, as well as increase the sensitivity at which DAPG can be detected. This enables quantification of relative amounts of DAPG-producers, which in turn increases our understanding of the dynamics and ecology of these producers in natural soil environments.

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Development of a whole cell biosensor for detection of 2, 4-diacetylphloroglucinol-producing bacteria from grassland soil

10.1101/2020.06.23.168377 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Morten Lindqvist Hansen ◽

Zhiming He ◽

Mario Wibowo ◽

Lars Jelsbak

Keyword(s):

Crop Yields ◽

Sampling Site ◽

Natural Soil ◽

Ecological Role ◽

Screening Process ◽

Grassland Soil ◽

Whole Cell ◽

Whole Cell Biosensor ◽

Cell Biosensor

ABSTRACTFluorescent Pseudomonas spp. producing the antibiotic 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG) are ecologically important in the rhizosphere as they can control phytopathogens and contribute to disease suppressiveness. While studies of DAPG-producing Pseudomonas have predominantly focused on rhizosphere niches, the ecological role of DAPG as well as the distribution and dynamics of DAPG-producing bacteria remains less well understood for other environments such as bulk soil and grassland, where the level of DAPG producers are predicted to be low. Here, we construct a whole cell biosensor for detection of DAPG and DAPG-producing bacteria from environmental samples.We show that the sensor is highly specific towards DAPG, with a sensitivity in the low nanomolar range (<20 nm). This sensitivity is comparable to the DAPG levels identified in rhizosphere samples by chemical analysis. The biosensor enables guided isolation of DAPG-producing Pseudomonas. Using the biosensor, we probed the same grassland soil sampling site to isolate genetically related DAPG-producing Pseudomonas kilonensis strains over a period of 12 months. Next, we used the biosensor to determine the frequency of DAPG-producing Pseudomonads within three different grassland soil sites and show that DAPG producers can constitute part of the Pseudomonas population in the range of 0.35-17% at these sites. Finally, we show that the biosensor enables detection of DAPG produced by non-Pseudomonas species.Our studies show that a whole-cell biosensor for DAPG detection can facilitate isolation of bacteria that produce this important secondary metabolite and provide insight into the population dynamics of DAPG producers in natural grassland soil.IMPORTANCEThe interest has grown for bacterial biocontrol agents as biosustainable alternatives to pesticides to increase crop yields. Currently, we have a broad knowledge of antimicrobial compounds, such as DAPG, produced by bacteria growing in the rhizosphere surrounding plant roots. However, compared to the rhizosphere niches, the ecological role of DAPG as well as the distribution and dynamics of DAPG-producing bacteria remains less well understood for other environments such as bulk and grassland soil. Currently, we are restricted to chemical methods with detection limits and time-consuming PCR-based and probe-hybridization approaches to detect DAPG and its respective producer. In this study, we have developed a whole-cell biosensor, which can circumvent the labor-intensive screening process, as well as increase the sensitivity at which DAPG is detected. This enables quantification of relative amounts of DAPG-producers, which in turn increases our understanding of the dynamics and ecology of these producers in natural soil environments.

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Influence of the luxR Regulatory Gene Dosage and Expression Level on the Sensitivity of the Whole-Cell Biosensor to Acyl-Homoserine Lactone

Biosensors ◽

10.3390/bios11060166 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 166

Author(s):

Sergey Bazhenov ◽

Uliana Novoyatlova ◽

Ekaterina Scheglova ◽

Vadim Fomin ◽

Svetlana Khrulnova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gene Dosage ◽

Regulatory Gene ◽

Homoserine Lactone ◽

Threshold Concentration ◽

Expression Level ◽

Whole Cell ◽

Lux Biosensors ◽

Order Of Magnitude ◽

Whole Cell Biosensor ◽

Cell Biosensor

Aliivibrio fischeri LuxR and Aliivibrio logei LuxR1 and LuxR2 regulatory proteins are quorum sensing transcriptional (QS) activators, inducing promoters of luxICDABEG genes in the presence of an autoinducer (3-oxo-hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone). In the Aliivibrio cells, luxR genes are regulated by HNS, CRP, LitR, etc. Here we investigated the role of the luxR expression level in LuxI/R QS system functionality and improved the whole-cell biosensor for autoinducer detection. Escherichia coli-based bacterial lux-biosensors were used, in which Photorhabdus luminescensluxCDABE genes were controlled by LuxR-dependent promoters and luxR, luxR1, or luxR2 regulatory genes. We varied either the dosage of the regulatory gene in the cells using additional plasmids, or the level of the regulatory gene expression using the lactose operon promoter. It was shown that an increase in expression level, as well as dosage of the regulatory gene in biosensor cells, leads to an increase in sensitivity (the threshold concentration of AI is reduced by one order of magnitude) and to a two to threefold reduction in response time. The best parameters were obtained for a biosensor with an increased dosage of luxRA. fischeri (sensitivity to 3-oxo-hexanoyl-l-homoserine lactone reached 30–100 pM).

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Detection of Bioavailable Cadmium by Double-Color Fluorescence Based on a Dual-Sensing Bioreporter System

Frontiers in Microbiology ◽

10.3389/fmicb.2021.696195 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Chang-ye Hui ◽

Yan Guo ◽

Jian Wu ◽

Lisa Liu ◽

Xue-qin Yang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Simultaneous Detection ◽

Environmental Water ◽

High Concentration ◽

Whole Cell ◽

Specificity And Sensitivity ◽

Improved Performance ◽

Whole Cell Biosensor ◽

Cell Biosensor ◽

Dual Sensing

Cadmium (Cd) is carcinogenic to humans and can accumulate in the liver, kidneys, and bones. There is widespread presence of cadmium in the environment as a consequence of anthropogenic activities. It is important to detect cadmium in the environment to prevent further exposure to humans. Previous whole-cell biosensor designs were focused on single-sensing constructs but have had difficulty in distinguishing cadmium from other metal ions such as lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). We developed a dual-sensing bacterial bioreporter system to detect bioavailable cadmium by employing CadC and CadR as separate metal sensory elements and eGFP and mCherry as fluorescent reporters in one genetic construct. The capability of this dual-sensing biosensor was proved to simultaneously detect bioavailable cadmium and its toxic effects using two sets of sensing systems while still maintaining similar specificity and sensitivity of respective signal-sensing biosensors. The productions of double-color fluorescence were directly proportional to the exposure concentration of cadmium, thereby serving as an effective quantitative biosensor to detect bioavailable cadmium. This novel dual-sensing biosensor was then validated to respond to Cd(II) spiked in environmental water samples. This is the first report of the development of a novel dual-sensing, whole-cell biosensor for simultaneous detection of bioavailable cadmium. The application of two biosensing modules provides versatile biosensing signals and improved performance that can make a significant impact on monitoring high concentration of bioavailable Cd(II) in environmental water to reduce human exposure to the harmful effects of cadmium.

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