A bioluminescent Escherichia coil bioreporter strain to detect hydrolysate related phenolics was developed by cloning the aaeXAB promoter from E. coli upstream of the luxCDABE genes. E. coli str. DH5 alpha carrying this plasmid (pDMA3) was responsive to sub-inhibitory concentrations of plant hydrolysate-related phenolics, such as ferulic and vanillic acids, responding to these compounds at concentrations as low as 9.8 and 4.9 mg/L, respectively. Experiments with a mixture of the compounds showed similar responses as with single compound tests, with a minimum detectable concentration of 19.5 mg/L Finally, tests using rice straw hydrolysates were conducted, with E. coli str. DH5 alpha/pDMA3 showing a maximum induction of 33-fold and a minimum detectable phenolic concentration of 9.3 mg/L, based upon Folin-Ciocalteu's reagent. These results demonstrate that this bioreporter maintains its sensitivity even with hydrolysate samples and that it can be potentially applied within biofuel industries to detect phenolics present within plant hydrolysates. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.