Methane is one of the most produced greenhouse gases, which traps heat in the atmosphere increasing global warming. Methane is produced due to industrial and agricultural activities. However, in high concentration it's also harmful for human health. Nowadays, because of increasing global warming, methane production must be regulated; therefore indicating methane gets higher priority.
Our aim is to develop a cheap methane biosensor consisting of modified methane-utilizing bacteria and enzymatic assay. As an energy and carbon source, they oxidize methane to methanol, methanol to formaldehyde and formaldehyde to formic acid. To our project we have chosen a well-known bacterium, Methylococcus capsulatus.
The enzymatic assay in the medium is methanol specific, so we need to make the bacteria produce methanol. Our idea is to knock out the gene of the enzyme transforming methanol to formaldehyde, called methanol-dehydrogenase. As a result methanol is accumulated in the medium; consequently, it can be indicated by a colour change reaction performed by the enzyme. Furthermore, the colour of the medium can be easily perceived by an electric tool.
Our product can be used as an alternative for present methane sensors in developing countries. For instance, in mines and indoors, where high concentration of methane can be released, it can function as an alarm device to prevent explosions and potential inhaling. Besides, we can discover yet unknown methane sources such as in swamps.
