Macro- or micro-nutrients are essential for crop yield and nutritional quality. In this work, selenium engineering nanomaterials (Se ENMs, 0.5 mg‧kg⁻¹) significantly increased the yield and nutritional quality of lettuce, which was better than that of selenite (Na₂SeO₃). Under the treatment of Se ENMs, macro-nutrients including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg) were increased by 15.8%, 98.5%, 42.8%, 146.9%, and 62.5%, respectively, and micro-nutrients including manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) were also increased by 87.4%, 78.0%, 61.1%, and 56.1%, respectively. As a result, the improved nutritional status of lettuce leaves increased photosynthesis (59.2%) and yield (37.6%). Root diameters and root tips of lettuce were increased by 23.9% and 18.6%, respectively, upon exposure to Se ENMs, which may be responsible for facilitating the absorption of macro and micro nutrients from the soil. These effects were significantly better than SeO₃²⁻ treated group. Metabolome results indicated that Se ENMs could improve the shikimic acid, phenylalanine, and tyrosine pathway, resulting in an enhancement of the beneficial compounds, including quercetin, rutin, and coumarin, by 2.9, 2.7, and 2.4-fold, respectively. Besides, pyruvic acid and TCA cycle were also improved by Se ENMs. These results provide new insight into the positive effect of Se ENMs on crop yield and nutritional quality, which demonstrate that the Se ENMs-enabled agriculture practices have a promising prospect as a sustainable crop strategy.

常量或微量营养素对作物产量和营养质量至关重要。在这项工作中，硒工程纳米材料（Se ENMs，0.5 mg‧kg ⁻¹）显着提高了生菜的产量和营养品质，优于亚硒酸盐（Na ₂ SeO ₃). 在Se ENMs处理下，氮（N）、磷（P）、钾（K）、钙（Ca）、镁（Mg）等常量营养元素分别增加15.8%、98.5%、42.8%、146.9% , 和 62.5%，锰 (Mn)、铁 (Fe)、铜 (Cu) 和锌 (Zn) 等微量元素也分别增加了 87.4%、78.0%、61.1% 和 56.1% . 结果，生菜叶片营养状况的改善提高了光合作用 (59.2%) 和产量 (37.6%)。暴露于硒 ENM 后，生菜的根径和根尖分别增加了 23.9% 和 18.6%，这可能有助于促进土壤中常量和微量养分的吸收。这些效果明显优于SeO ₃ ²⁻治疗组。代谢组学结果表明，Se ENMs 可以改善莽草酸、苯丙氨酸和酪氨酸途径，从而使槲皮素、芦丁和香豆素等有益化合物的含量分别提高 2.9、2.7 和 2.4 倍。此外，Se ENMs 还改善了丙酮酸和 TCA 循环。这些结果为硒 ENMs 对作物产量和营养质量的积极影响提供了新的见解，这表明硒 ENMs 支持的农业实践作为一种可持续的作物策略具有广阔的前景。