Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences and Technologies, University of Salento, Via Monteroni 165, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
NBFC National Biodiversity Future Center, 90133 Palermo, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2024 May 31;25(11):6090. doi: 10.3390/ijms25116090.
Heavy metals are dangerous contaminants that constitute a threat to human health because they persist in soils and are easily transferred into the food chain, causing damage to human health. Among heavy metals, nickel appears to be one of the most dangerous, being responsible for different disorders. Public health protection requires nickel detection in the environment and food chains. Biosensors represent simple, rapid, and sensitive methods for detecting nickel contamination. In this paper, we report on the setting up a whole-cell-based system, in which protoplasts, obtained from leaves, were used as transducers to detect the presence of heavy metal ions and, in particular, nickel ions. Protoplasts were genetically modified with a plasmid containing the reporter gene () under control of the promoter region of a sunflower gene coding for a small Heat Shock Protein (HSP). Using this device, the presence of heavy metal ions was detected. Thus, the possibility of using this whole-cell system as a novel tool to detect the presence of nickel ions in food matrices was assessed.
重金属是对人类健康构成威胁的危险污染物，因为它们在土壤中持久存在且容易转移到食物链中，从而对人类健康造成损害。在重金属中，镍似乎是最危险的一种，它会导致不同的疾病。公共卫生保护需要在环境和食物链中检测镍。生物传感器是检测镍污染的简单、快速和敏感的方法。在本文中，我们报告了一种基于完整细胞的系统的建立，其中原生质体从叶片中获得，用作传感器来检测重金属离子的存在，特别是镍离子的存在。原生质体通过含有报告基因（）的质粒进行遗传修饰，该质粒受编码小型热休克蛋白（HSP）的向日葵基因启动子区域的控制。使用该装置检测到重金属离子的存在。因此，评估了将这种全细胞系统用作检测食品基质中镍离子存在的新型工具的可能性。
