Applied and Environmental Microbiology, November 1998, p. 4346-4352, Vol. 64, No. 11
0099-2240/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Department of Food Engineering and Biotechnology, The Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel
Received 26 May 1998/Accepted 5 August 1998
The luxCDABE bioluminescence genes of the Vibrio fischeri lux system have been used as a reporter system for different stress and regulatory promoters of Escherichia coli. Selected E. coli strains carrying lux genes fused to different promoters were exposed to various toxic chemicals, and the recorded luminescence was used for the characterization of the biologic signature of each compound. Analysis of these data with the aid of a proper algorithm allowed quantitative and qualitative assessment of toxic chemicals. Of the 25 tested chemicals, 23 were identified by this novel strategy in a 3-h procedure. This system can also be adapted for the identification of simple mixtures of toxic agents when the biologic signatures of the individual compounds are known. This biologic recognition strategy also provides a tool for evaluating the degree of similarity between the modes of action of different toxic agents.
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