News Release

Genetic switch detects TNT

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Society for Experimental Biology

Cleaning-up post-war explosive chemicals could get cheaper and easier, using a new genetic 'switch' device, being developed by scientists at the University of Exeter to detect damaging contaminants, such as TNT.

"It's a bit like making mushroom soup made from dehydrated ingredients", says Professor John Love, who is leading the research.

"We take all the ingredients needed for gene activity, mix them together and transfer them onto paper to make a dipstick. When the mixture comes into contact with a contaminated water sample, it turns the genetic switch on which signals the presence of the pollutant", he said. When TNT is present, transcription, which is the first step of gene expression (in which a particular segment of DNA is copied into RNA) goes ahead, and the promoter is turned on.

In contrast to previous detection systems that rely on biological components, this is a cheaper cell-free system with a longer shelf life, which needs very little expertise to operate it. The method is also specific for each chemical, which means that the clean-up can be targeted.

Further research is needed before the system is ready for deployment. "We are tinkering with the switches that turn genes on, because we want the detector to be sensitive to different levels of TNT," said Prof. Love. This will allow the detector to measure the concentration of pollutants as well as their presence.

The original idea for the project came from a student competition called iGEM, which is supervised by Dr Thomas Howard. The team at Exeter is hoping to develop the system further so that it will be able to detect not just TNT, but other contaminants too.

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