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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Detecting Estrogenic Ligands in Personal Care Products using a Yeast Estrogen Screen Optimized for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory
Published on: January 1, 2018
Developing a biosensor for estrogens in water samples: study of the real-time response of live cells of the
E Wozei1, S W Hermanowicz, H-Y N Holman
1Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Center for Environmental Biotechnology, MS 70A-3317, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. EWozei@LBL.gov
Abstract:
Using a fluorescein di-beta-D-galactopyranoside (FDG) substrate we show that in live cells of an estrogen-sensitive yeast strain RMY/ER-ERE with human estrogen receptor (ERalpha) gene and the lacZ gene which encodes beta-galactosidase, the uptake of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and the subsequent production of beta-galactosidase enzyme occur quite rapidly, with maximal enzyme-catalyzed product formation evident after about 30 min of exposure to E2. This finding which agrees with the well-known rates of enzyme-catalyzed reactions could have implications for shortening the duration of environmental sample screening and monitoring regimes using yeast-based estrogen assays, and the development of biosensors for environmental estrogens to complement quantification methods.
