Biomass-derived carbon dots (CDs) are promising nanotools for agricultural applications and function as a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger to alleviate plant oxidative stress under adverse environments. Nevertheless, plants need ROS burst to fully activate Ca2+-regulated defensive signaling pathway. The underlying mechanism of CDs to improve plant environmental adaptability without ROS is largely unknown. Here, Salvia miltiorrhiza-derived CDs triggered ROS-independent Ca2+ mobilization in plant roots. Mechanistic investigation attributed this function mainly to the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on CDs. CDs-triggered Ca2+ mobilization was found to be dependent on the production of cyclic nucleotides and cyclic nucleotide-gated ion channels. Lectin receptor kinases were verified as essential for this Ca2+ mobilization. CDs hydroponic application promoted Ca2+ signaling and plant environmental adaptability under salinity and nutrient-deficient conditions. All these findings uncover that CDs have a Ca2+-mobilizing property and thus can be used as a simultaneous Ca2+ signaling amplifier and ROS scavenger for crop improvement.
Keywords: calcium mobilization; carbon dots; cyclic nucleotide gated ion channels; lectin receptor kinases; potassium and iron deficiency; salt stress.