Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 9, 2025

Preparation and Application of a New Bacterial Biosensor for the Presumptive Detection of Gunshot Residue
Published on: May 9, 2019
Bacterial two-component systems as sensors for synthetic biology applications
John T Lazar1, Jeffrey J Tabor2,3,4
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA.
Abstract:
Two-component systems (TCSs) are a ubiquitous family of signal transduction pathways that enable bacteria to sense and respond to diverse physical, chemical, and biological stimuli outside and inside the cell. Synthetic biologists have begun to repurpose TCSs for applications in optogenetics, materials science, gut microbiome engineering, and soil nutrient biosensing, among others. New engineering methods including genetic refactoring, DNA-binding domain swapping, detection threshold tuning, and phosphorylation cross-talk insulation are being used to increase the reliability of TCS sensor performance and tailor TCS signaling properties to the requirements of specific applications. There is now potential to combine these methods with large-scale gene synthesis and laboratory screening to discover the inputs sensed by many uncharacterized TCSs and develop a large new family of genetically-encoded sensors that respond to an unrivaled breadth of stimuli.
More Related Videos
10:07Preparation of Multifunctional Silk-Based Microcapsules Loaded with DNA Plasmids Encoding RNA Aptamers and Riboswitches
Published on: October 8, 2021
12:24DNA-affinity-purified Chip DAP-chip Method to Determine Gene Targets for Bacterial Two component Regulatory Systems
Published on: July 21, 2014
Related Concept Videos
Global Regulatory Systems
Bacterial Signaling
Other Stress Responses in Bacteria
Biosynthesis in Bacteria
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Gram-negative Bacterial Protein Secretion Systems