The JA–CsMYC2.1–CsNOMT–sakuranetin module contributes to differential anthracnose resistance in Camellia sinensis

Abstract

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum species, poses a significant threat to global tea ( Camellia sinensis ) production, yet its inducible resistance mechanisms remain largely uncharacterized. Through integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of the anthracnose-resistant cultivar ‘Zijuan’ and the susceptible cultivar ‘Longjing43’, we identified sakuranetin as a key phytoalexin in tea plants and elucidated a complete jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated defense pathway. Our functional characterization revealed that CsNOMT (Cha09g008790), a naringenin 7-O-methyltransferase, catalyzes sakuranetin biosynthesis with high substrate specificity. Following infection with Colletotrichum camelliae , sakuranetin accumulated exclusively in resistant cultivars, exhibiting superior antifungal activity compared to major tea catechins. Functional validation demonstrated that overexpression of CsNOMT enhanced both sakuranetin accumulation and disease resistance, while gene silencing compromised both traits. Mechanistically, we established that the JA-responsive transcription factor CsMYC2.1 directly activates CsNOMT transcription via G-box binding, establishing a novel JA–CsMYC2.1–CsNOMT–sakuranetin defense axis that distinguishes resistant from susceptible tea cultivars. This study represents the first comprehensive characterization of inducible phytoalexin-mediated immunity in tea, providing immediate applications for sustainable tea production. CsNOMT serves as a valuable functional marker for resistance breeding, while sakuranetin emerges as a promising natural biopesticide to reduce reliance on synthetic fungicides.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (grant LY24C160004), the Natural Science Foundation of China (grants 32470267 and 32272553), the Major Science and Technology Special Project of Variety Breeding of Zhejiang Province (2021C02067-7).

Author contributions

G.H. and X.Z. designed the project, analyzed the data, interpreted the results, and wrote the manuscript. X.Z., C.C., L.L., Y.H., Q.H.L., D.L., X.H., and Q.S.L. performed the experiments. G.H. and Q.S.L. revised the paper. The submission of the article has been approved by all authors.

Data availability

All the data supporting the findings of this study are available in the paper and supplementary data.

Conflicts of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Supplementary material

Supplementary material is available at Horticulture Research online.

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