Kou Erfeng, Luo Zhongxu, Ye Jingyi, Chen Xu, Lu Dan, Landry Markita P, Zhang Honglu, Zhang Huan
School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA.
Plant Biotechnol J. 2025 Jun;23(6):2150-2161. doi: 10.1111/pbi.70050. Epub 2025 Mar 16.
Global food production faces persistent threats from environmental challenges and pathogenic attacks, leading to significant yield losses. Conventional strategies to combat pathogens, such as fungicides and disease-resistant breeding, are limited by environmental contamination and emergence of pathogen resistance. Herein, we engineered sunlight-sensitive and biodegradable carbon dots (CDs) capable of generating reactive oxygen species (ROS), offering a novel and sustainable approach for plant protection. Our study demonstrates that CDs function as dual-purpose materials: priming plant immune responses and serving as broad-spectrum antifungal agents. Foliar application of CDs generated ROS under light, and the ROS could damage the plant cell wall and trigger cell wall-mediated immunity. Immune activation enhanced plant resistance against pathogens without compromising photosynthetic efficiency or yield. Specifically, spray treatment with CDs at 240 mg/L (2 mL per plant) reduced the incidence of grey mould in N. benthamiana and tomato leaves by 44% and 12%, respectively, and late blight in tomato leaves by 31%. Moreover, CDs (480 mg/L, 1 mL) combined with continuous sunlight irradiation (simulated by xenon lamp, 9.4 × 10 lux) showed a broad-spectrum antifungal activity. The inhibition ratios for mycelium growth were 66.5% for P. capsici, 8% for S. sclerotiorum and 100% for B. cinerea, respectively. Mechanistic studies revealed that CDs effectively inhibited mycelium growth by damaging hyphae and spore structures, thereby disrupting the propagation and vitality of pathogens. These findings suggest that CDs offer a promising, eco-friendly strategy for sustainable crop protection, with potential for practical agricultural applications that maintain crop yields and minimize environmental impact.
全球粮食生产面临着来自环境挑战和病原体攻击的持续威胁，导致产量大幅损失。对抗病原体的传统策略，如杀菌剂和抗病育种，受到环境污染和病原体抗性出现的限制。在此，我们设计了对阳光敏感且可生物降解的碳点（CDs），其能够产生活性氧（ROS），为植物保护提供了一种新颖且可持续的方法。我们的研究表明，碳点具有双重功能：引发植物免疫反应并作为广谱抗真菌剂。叶面喷施碳点在光照下产生活性氧，活性氧可破坏植物细胞壁并触发细胞壁介导的免疫反应。免疫激活增强了植物对病原体的抗性，同时不影响光合效率或产量。具体而言，以240mg/L（每株植物2mL）的碳点进行喷雾处理，可使本氏烟草和番茄叶片上灰霉病的发病率分别降低44%和12%，使番茄叶片上晚疫病的发病率降低31%。此外，480mg/L（1mL）的碳点与持续阳光照射（由氙灯模拟，9.4×10勒克斯）相结合显示出广谱抗真菌活性。对辣椒疫霉、核盘菌和灰葡萄孢菌菌丝体生长的抑制率分别为66.5%、8%和100%。机理研究表明，碳点通过破坏菌丝和孢子结构有效抑制菌丝体生长，从而破坏病原体的繁殖和活力。这些发现表明，碳点为可持续作物保护提供了一种有前景的、生态友好的策略，具有在实际农业应用中维持作物产量并最小化环境影响的潜力。
