Brief introduction of luminescent bacteria method

The problem of water pollution is becoming more and more serious, and many sensitive and effective environmental monitoring methods have been developed, which can be divided into two categories: analytical technology and biological monitoring. Among them, analytical techniques are often used to test the conventional indicators of wastewater, but they cannot reflect the comprehensive toxicity of water quality. Traditional biological monitoring takes Daphnia, algae or fish as the test object, although it can reflect the direct influence of poisons on organisms, the biggest disadvantage of these methods is the long experimental period and complicated experimental process. Aiming at the deficiency of traditional biological toxicity detection methods, a new biological toxicity monitoring technology-luminescent bacteria method was developed. This method is easy to operate and the measurement results are clear, which is favored by scientific research units and enterprises.

Since R. Boyle observed in 1672 that the light emitted by luminescent bacteria is easily inhibited by chemicals, many scientists have done a lot of research on the luminescent effect of bacteria. From 1970s to early 1980s, foreign scientists first isolated and screened luminescent bacteria harmless to human body and sensitive to environment from the surface of marine fish, and used them to detect the biotoxicity of water. Now it has become a simple and rapid biological toxicity detection method. In the early 1980s, this technology was introduced to China, and seawater-type and freshwater-type luminescent bacteria (Vibrio qinghaiensis) were isolated successively, which were used to detect the acute biotoxicity of environmental pollutants.

Luminescent bacteria are generally about 1.5-3um (micron) long and 0.5-0.8um wide, which are invisible to the naked eye. Only when magnified to 1, 000 times with a microscope can their body shape be distinguished. Their luminescence can only be seen under certain conditions. Vibrio qinghaiensis is the only non-pathogenic freshwater luminescent bacteria, so the patented product Vibrio qinghaiensis freeze-dried powder is safe and reliable in transportation and use, and the waste bacterial liquid does not need special treatment and will not cause secondary pollution.