An overview on bioreporter development for pollution monitoring.

This article provides a comprehensive overview of bioreporters—live natural or genetically engineered cells that produce measurable signals in response to specific environmental chemical or physical stimuli—and their development for pollution monitoring. It details the principles of bioreporter functioning, focusing on the fusion of environmentally responsive promoter genes with reporter genes such as bacterial luciferase (lux), firefly luciferase (luc), green fluorescent protein (GFP), aequorin, and β-galactosidase (lacZ), which generate bioluminescent, fluorescent, or colorimetric signals indicative of pollutant presence. The review highlights applications of bioreporters in detecting microorganisms, inorganic and organic pollutants, soil nutrients, and emerging contaminants, as well as their role in bioremediation and environmental risk assessment. Challenges such as sensitivity, specificity, and multiplex contaminant detection are discussed, alongside future prospects involving genetic engineering, novel microbial hosts, and integration with technologies like artificial intelligence and portable devices to enhance field applicability.