Engineering sensitive acetylcholinesterase for detection of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides

High quantities of various acetylcholinesterases can now be produced following in vitro expression and it is possible to use them as biosensors to detect organophosphates and carbamates insecticides. In order to check the potentialities of acetylcholinesterase from various sources, we have studied enzyme from bovine erythrocyte, Electrophorus electricus, Drosophila melanogaster, Torpedo californica and Caenorhabditis elegans. It appears that insect acetylcholinesterase is more susceptible to a broad range of organophosphates and carbamates insecticides than the other tested enzymes. D. melanogaster is 8-fold more sensitive than E. electricus enzyme and this sensitivity has been increased to 12-fold by introducing a mutation at position 408.