Raman spectroscopic insights into the chemical gradients within the wound plug of the green alga Caulerpa taxifolia.

The invasive unicellular green macroalga Caulerpa taxifolia has spread dramatically in the Mediterranean Sea over the last decades. Its success is based on rapid plug formation after wounding, to prevent the loss of cell content. This quick and efficient process involves the rapid transformation of the secondary metabolite caulerpenyne to the reactive 1,4-dialdehyde oxytoxin 2, which acts as a protein crosslinker.

Toward in vivo chemical imaging of epicuticular waxes.

Epicuticular waxes, which are found on the outer surface of plant cuticles, are difficult to study in vivo. To monitor the growth, development, and structural alterations of epicuticular wax layers, coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) might be used. CARS, as a Raman-based technique, not only provides structural insight but also chemical information by imaging the spatial distribution of Raman-active vibrations.