Assess heavy metals-induced oxidative stress of microalgae by Electro-Raman combined technique

Oxidative stress of aquatic microorganisms under heavy metal stress is closely reflected by metabolite changes in cells but it is very difficult to study due to the fast metabolism process and severe in-situ measurements hurdle. Herein, the oxidative stress of cadmium on Euglena gracilis was systematically studied through multi-combined techniques. In particular, for the first time electrochemical approach was associated with Raman spectroscopy imaging to vividly to investigate temporal-spatially varied oxidative stress and its effects on cells metabolism, in which former real-time measured a volcanic relation of extracellular hydrogen peroxide versus the increase of cadmium stress, while the latter shows the corresponding metabolic changes by Raman imaging of single cells. This work builds a bridge to unravel the mechanism of cellular oxidative stress under harsh conditions in a more systematic and holistic approach, while holding a great promise to construct heavy metal biosensors precisely monitoring high heavy metal tolerance strains for environmental modification.