CuO@SiO 2 Seed Priming Enhances Drought Tolerance and Phosphorus Acquisition Efficiency of Maize

作者：Yixia Zhu, Zihan Guo, Shourong Zheng, Dongmei Zhou, Weichen Zhao, Zhiqiang Tan, Jorge L. Gardea‐Torresdey, Arturo A. Keller, Yi Wang, Jason C. White, Lijuan Zhao · 发表于：Environmental Science & Technology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1021/acs.est.5c11193 · 被引用次数：5 · 研究领域：Crop Yield and Soil Fertility、Plant nutrient uptake and metabolism、Potato Plant Research

Sustainable agriculture requires minimizing resource inputs while maximizing the outputs. Here, we report that rationally engineered Fenton-like CuO@SiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs), as a seed priming agent (20 mg/L, 24 h), concurrently enhanced drought tolerance and phosphorus (P) acquisition efficiency of maize, a climate vulnerable staple crop. Importantly, life cycle field pot trials reveal that CuO@SiO 2 NPs seed priming increased the grain yield by 9.3% and 16.6%, respectively, under normal and drought conditions, compared to the hydropriming control. This enhanced drought-resilience and yield were attributed to reactive oxygen species (ROS)-intensified root system architecture (RSA) plasticity, including enhanced root hair density, deeper primary root, and prolific lateral root branching. RNA-seq revealed the activation of genes related to RSA modulation (PLA2, PG, and EXP), P/N/S uptake and assimilation (PHT, NRT, NR, NiR, and SULTR), and drought tolerance (ELIP, LEA, and DRP) in CuO@SiO 2 NPs-primed seeds. Additionally, seed priming altered the seed metabolite profile, systematically elevating the content of adenosine triphosphate (24.1%), amino acids (7.6–105%), sugars (20–24%), organic acids (49–121%), phenolic acids (47–315%), and fatty acids (4.2–39%), indicating the boosted respiration and accelerated mobilization of seed stored reserves. Collectively, this simple and inexpensive ($0.62–1.15 per acre) seed priming strategy effectively enhances maize resilience to water...