DEVELOPMENT OF A GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN REPORTER FOR A YEAST GENOTOXICITY BIOSENSOR

A reporter system, constructed for a laboratory screen for new genes i nvolved in DNA repair in the brewer's yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has been developed for use in a genotoxicity biosensor. The strain pro duces green fluorescent protein (yEGFP) when DNA damage has occurred. yEGFP is codon optimised for yeasts. The reporter does not respond to chemicals which delay mitosis, and responds appropriately to the genet ic regulation of DNA repair. Data is presented which demonstrate strai n improvements appropriate to biosensor technology: improved signal to noise ratio, ease of data collection and uncomplicated material handl ing. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.