Reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by cyanobacteria act as an electron acceptor in the biocathode of a bio-electrochemical system
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Updated: May 20, 2026

Detecting, Visualizing and Quantitating the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species in an Amoeba Model System
Published on: November 5, 2013
Pei-Jie Cai1, Xiang Xiao, Yan-Rong He
1Department of Chemistry, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
Abstract:
The enhanced electricity generation in a biocathode bio-electrochemical system (BES) with Microcystis aeruginosa IPP as the cathodic microorganism under illumination is investigated. The results show that this cyanobacterium is able to act as a potential cathodic microorganism under illumination. In addition, M. aeruginosa IPP is found to produce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in its growth in the BES. ROS, as more competitive electron acceptors than oxygen, are utilized prior to oxygen. The BES current is substantially reduced when the ROS production is inhibited by mannitol, indicating that the ROS secreted by the cyanobacterium play an important role in the electricity generation of such a biocathode BES. This work demonstrates that the ROS released by cyanobacteria benefit for an enhanced electricity generation of BES.
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