Use of a green fluorescent protein gene as a reporter in Zymomonas mobilis and Halomonas elongata.

We investigated the applicability of the green fluorescent protein of Aequorea victoria as a reporter for gene expression in the strictly fermentative Gram-negative ethanologenic bacterium Zymomonas mobilis and in the moderately halophilic bacterium Halomonas elongata. We have succeeded to express a mutated gene of green fluorescent protein under the control of different promoters in Z. mobilis and H. elongata grown under various glucose or salt concentrations, respectively. Our results demonstrate that gfp can serve as an easily assayable reporter gene in both organisms. Maximum fluorescence was obtained in Z. mobilis grown aerobically and in H. elongata grown under elevated salt concentration in solid medium. For both bacteria the fluorescence obtained was higher when the gfp gene was placed under the control of a native promoter.