Nitrogen-doped carbon dots amplify growth-promoting effects in Arabidopsis thaliana via a "Maternal Stress-Progeny Benefit" indirect regulation mode

Addressing the high cost, large dosage, heavy metal risks of traditional nanomaterials, and public concerns over transgenic breeding, this work used metal-free nitrogen-doped carbon dots (CNDs) as a stress inducer in Arabidopsis thaliana ( A. thaliana ) to validate the “Maternal Stress-Progeny Benefit” strategy for adaptive memory seed breeding. Results showed that CND exposure in maternal (F 1 ) plants significantly activated superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS). CNDs were absorbed by roots and inherited in F 2 seeds, establishing heritable adaptive memory. F 2 plants exhibited 67.0%-200% higher aboveground biomass within 5-30 days, 22.0% higher silique fresh weight, and 38.7% higher dry weight. Chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate rose by 98.5% and 100%, respectively, with greatly improved salt tolerance. Transcriptomics revealed 1024 differentially expressed genes enriched in hormone pathways, including upregulated YUC2/6/8/9 , A-ARR/B-ARR , CYP90C1/D1 , CYP85A1/A2 , and PYR/PYL , and downregulated PP2C and MAPKKK17/18 . Metabolomics highlighted enhanced L-aspartic acid metabolism (up 29.7%) coupled with nucleotide and phospholipid pathways. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and enzyme assays verified that CNDs show photocatalytic and peroxidase-like activities, triggering moderate ROS to prime stress memory and balance growth and resistance. This transgenerational strategy lowers CND dosage, avoids heavy metal and transgenic issues, and provides a green non-transgenic breeding paradigm for crop yield and stress resilience improvement.