Synergistic effects of carbon dots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on mitigating PFAS stress and reinforcing the purification performance of constructed wetlands.
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75% confidenceCombining carbon dots and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in constructed wetlands significantly improves plant physiological performance and enhances remediation efficiency under PFAS exposure.
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Abstract
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are highly persistent pollutants that disrupt plant-microbe interactions and compromise the performance of constructed wetlands (CWs). Here, we demonstrate a synergistic strategy combining carbon dots (CDs) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) to alleviate PFAS-induced stress and enhance CW remediation efficiency. CD amendment markedly improved plant physiological performance under PFAS exposure, increasing photosynthetic efficiency and antioxidant enzyme activities, while simultaneously facilitating AMF colonization. Under high PFAS concentrations, the AMF-CDs treatment increased AMF colonization density by 33.3-100% relative to AMF alone, indicating substantial protection of symbiotic functionality. Metagenomic and community analyses revealed that the AMF- CDs combination reshaped the rhizosphere microbiome, enriching taxa such as Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes, and Campylobacterota that are functionally linked to nitrogen cycling, PFAS transformation, and metabolic resilience. These microbial shifts enhanced nutrient turnover and strengthened redox coupling processes critical for pollutant degradation. Consequently, the AMF-CDs system achieved pronounced improvements in water quality, with total phosphorus (TP), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and NH 4 + -N removal efficiencies elevated by 34.3-158.3% compared with untreated controls. This study provides the first evidence that CDs function as nano-bridging agents that stabilize the root-microbe interface, reinforce AMF-plant symbiosis, and drive microbial community specialization toward pollutant degradation. The AMF-CDs synergistic mechanism offers a sustainable and scalable nano-bio strategy for restoring PFAS-contaminated ecosystems and advancing next generation constructed wetland technologies.