Calcium-Mobilizing Properties of Salvia miltiorrhiza-Derived Carbon Dots Confer Enhanced Environmental Adaptability in Plants

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 Ca 2+ -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 Ca 2+ mobilization in plant roots. Mechanistic investigation attributed this function mainly to the hydroxyl and carboxyl groups on CDs. CDs-triggered Ca 2+ 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 Ca 2+ mobilization. CDs hydroponic application promoted Ca 2+ signaling and plant environmental adaptability under salinity and nutrient-deficient conditions. All these findings uncover that CDs have a Ca 2+ -mobilizing property and thus can be used as a simultaneous Ca 2+ signaling amplifier and ROS scavenger for crop improvement.