Nonspecific Lux Bioreporters

Nonspecific lux bioreporters are typically used for the detection of chemical toxins. They are usually designed to continuously bioliuninesce. Upon exposure to a chemical toxin, either the cell dies or its metabolic activity is retarded, leading to a decrease in bioluminescent light levels. 

Except this, UMT has also been used as a bioreporter for the selection of recombinant plasmids, as a marker for gene transcription in bacterial, yeast, and mammalian cells, and for the detection of toxic salts such as arsenite and antimonite. 

Microbial bioreporters play an important role in environmental monitoring and ecotoxicology. Microorganisms that are genetically modi- 

The dose response relationship between seven commonly used herbicides and four luminescence-based bacterial biosensors was characterised. As herbicide concentration increased the light emitted by the test organism declined in a concentration dependent manner. These dose responses were used to compare the predicted vs. observed response of a biosensor in the presence of multiple contaminants. For the majority of herbicide interactions, the relationship was not additive but primarily antagonistic and sometimes synergistic. These biosensors provide a sensitive test and are able to screen a large volume and wide range of samples with relative rapidity and ease of interpretation. In this study biosensor technology has been successfully applied to interpret the interactive effects of herbicides in freshwater environments [12]. 

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