The Dirt Detective

Wisconsin Lutheran College is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin but is within only a few miles of abundant farmland. Agriculture is one of the biggest industries in the state and these products go all over the world. One important component in agricultural success is soil composition. It is essential to have the appropriate nutrients in the soil for crops to grow and provide a maximal return. Our team has engineered Escherichia coli to sense specific soil nutrients and provide a colorimetric readout of concentration. Our goal is to be able to measure the concentration of phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, and copper using nutrient-specific promoters controlling the expression of Beta-lactamase. While the nitrate and nitrite sensors did not work well, the phosphate and copper sensors have provided promising results. We aim to design a kit using these sensors to help farmers measure nutrients in the soil simply, affordably, and accurately.