Characterization of Oxidative Lipidomics and Autophagy Induction in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Under Abiotic Stress.

Autophagy constitutes an essential process triggered by oxidative stress that enables cells to recycle damaged biomolecules and organelles, which is eventually traced by immunodetection with anti-ATG8. In parallel with autophagy induction, carbon metabolism in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii under abiotic stress is diverged toward lipid biosynthesis and lipid droplet accumulation, which can be analyzed by a simple thin-layer chromatography and in vivo staining with the fluorescent probe BODIPY 493/503. We show the responses in Chlamydomonas cells exposed to mercury or cadmium (0-50 μM doses), as examples of oxidative stress-mediated changes in autophagy and lipid metabolism, monitored with the procedures described in this report.