A diazotroph-lettuce symbiosis platform based on a carbon dot-microalgal hybrid system.
- 2026
- Nanoscale 18(16)
- Zhenxi Xie
- Guiling Zeng
- Mingtao Zheng
- Haoran Zhang
- Xiaoqin Pan
- Wei Li
- Bingfu Lei
- PubMed: 41885241
- DOI: 10.1039/d5nr05171a
Study Design
- Population
- Nostoc commune Vauch microalgae and lettuce plants
- Methods
- Construction of CD/microalgal hybrid nitrogen-fixation system and integration with lettuce hydroponic platform
- Funding
- Unclear
A diazotroph-plant symbiosis model system has been developed, but the nitrogen-fixation efficiency of the engineered system remains suboptimal compared with those of their wild-type counterparts. In this study, carbon dots (CDs) with benzoquinone and phenazine structures, prepared from o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) and catechol (CAT), were selected as an electron donor and an electron relay to construct a CD/microalgal hybrid nitrogen-fixation system. The photocurrent response confirmed the photoelectron-donor capability of the CDs. Nostoc commune Vauch was chosen as the diazotroph. The hybrid system produced 1.32-fold more ethylene than pure microalgae. When integrated with a lettuce hydroponic platform, the system enabled lettuce to utilize atmospheric nitrogen as an ammonia fertilizer. The net photosynthetic rate, total fresh weight, total chlorophyll content, and total soluble protein content of lettuce grown in the established platform increased by 1.20-, 1.12-, 1.14-, and 1.32-fold, respectively, contributing to the sustainable development of agriculture.