Replacing Manual Operation with Bio-Automation II: Construction of a Biological Digestion Gene Circuit to Eliminate the Interference of Food Matrices in the Rapid Detection of Heavy Metals

TL;DR

This paper introduces a biological digestion system that improves heavy metal detection in food by breaking down interfering compounds like phytic acid and starch.

Contribution

A novel gene circuit was constructed to simultaneously detect mercury ions and digest food matrix components that interfere with detection.

Findings

Biosensor responses improved 1.43-fold for phytate digestion in the presence of mercury ions.

The detection limit of the BαAP biosensor was 0.082 μM for mercury ions.

The biosensor's performance in real samples was significantly enhanced by the bio-digestion pathway.

Abstract

Food matrices such as phytic acid, starch, and proteins can chelate heavy metals, acting as stabilizers that significantly hinder accurately detecting heavy metal contamination. This study proposes a biological digestion strategy to overcome such interference. The gene sequences for phytase (appA) from Escherichia coli (E. coli), α-amylase (amyA) from Escherichia coli (E. coli), and protease (AO090120000474) from Aspergillus oryzae were identified via bioinformatics screening. Whole-cell biosensors were then developed to simultaneously detect mercury ions (Hg2+) and digest phytate, starch, and proteins. In the presence of 100 μM Hg2+, biosensor responses improved by 1.43-, 1.38-, and 1.11-fold, respectively. A “heavy metal pollutant bio-digestion pathway” was constructed by integrating genes for synthesizing phytic acid, starch, and protein with those for Hg2+ detection. In the presence of 100 μM Hg2+, the detection effect was improved by 1.36-fold. The detection limit of the BαAP whole-cell biosensor was 0.082 μM, while the limit of quantitation was 0.272 μM. The study effectively addresses the limitations of biosensor performance in real sample detection.

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