Development of a whole-cell biosensor based on an ArsR-P(ars) regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens

In this study, an Escherichia coli (E. coli) whole-cell biosensor for the specific detection of bioavailable arsenic was developed by placing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter gene under the control of the ArsR1 (GSU2952) regulatory circuit from Geobacter sulfurreducens. E. coli cells only emitted green fluorescence in the presence of arsenite and were more sensitive to arsenite when they were grown in M9 supplemented medium compared to LB medium. Under optimal test conditions, the Geobacter arsR1 promoter had a detection limit of 0.01 μM arsenite and the GFP expression was linear within a range of 0.03–0.1 μM (2.25–7.5 μg/l). These values were well below World Health Organization’s drinking water quality standard, which is 10 μg/l. The feasibility of using this whole-cell biosensor to detect arsenic in water samples, such as arsenic polluted tap water and landfill leachate was verified. The biosensor was determined to be just as sensitive as atomic fluorescence spectrometry. This study examines the potential applications of biosensors constructed with Geobacter ArsR-P(ars) regulatory circuits and provides a rapid and cost-effective tool that can be used for arsenic detection in water samples.