Engineering Microbial Biosensors

Abstract The use of biological entities as ‘sensors’ has long been of interest to engineers and biologists. With recent advances in our ability to engineer biology, potential biosensors can be identified, engineered and tested faster than ever before. In this chapter, we discuss different types of biosensors and their potential uses and the considerations and requirements associated with engineering and using them. We give a step-by-step guide of how to engineer microbial biosensors, giving examples from the literature and pointing out useful wet-lab and dry-lab tools to assist the process.

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