Fluorescent bacteria detecting iron loading

Abstract

Since iron pollution represents a real threat in the modern industrial era, while, in the meantime, the environment control using microorganisms has been developed, the present investigation was dedicated to iron sensing by means of bacterial cultures. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was chosen due to its ability to up-take the environmental iron in the form of complex iron compositions called siderophores, characterized by luminescent features. It was proved that wild strains of this human pathogen could be the biological components of an iron biosensor for both clinical and environmental applications.