A platform for the development of novel biosensors by configuring allosteric transcription factor recognition with amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assays

A wide range of chemicals can be sensed by allosteric transcription factors (aTFs) in bacteria. Herein, we report a biosensing platform by using isolated aTFs as recognition elements in vitro. Moreover, a general strategy to increase the sensitivity of the aTF-based biosensors is provided. As a proof-of-concept, we obtained by far the most sensitive uric acid and oxytetracycline biosensors by using aTF HucR and OtrR as recognition elements, respectively. As a large number of aTFs are present in bacteria, our work opens a novel route to develop sensitive aTF-based biosensors.