Characterizing the Alterations in the Phyllosphere Microbiome in Relation to Blister Blight Disease in Tea Plants

Abstract

Abstract Background Tea blister blight is a highly significant leaf disease of tea plants (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) that adversely affects global tea production. While the influence of commensal microbes on disease development has been observed, the overall impact of the phyllosphere microbiome and its response to pathogen invasion in tea leaves has largely not been explored. For this investigation, we utilized a blend of 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) amplicon information to analyze the changes in the phyllosphere microbiome concerning different degrees of blister blight disease. Results The results showed that the fungal community on healthy leaves had greater alpha diversity than that on diseased leaves. However, there were no significant differences in the bacterial Sobs, Chao 1, or Shannon indices between healthy and diseased tea leaves. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was employed to distinguish the microbial communities of tea plants with blister blight disease from those of healthy plants. Distinct operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified at different disease developmental stages using effect size analysis via linear discriminant analysis (LefSe). Moreover, redundancy analysis conducted at both the phylum and genus levels provided additional evidence of disparities in the bacterial and fungal compositions between healthy and diseased tea leaves. These findings suggested the occurrence of potential interactions between beneficial and pathogenic microorganisms within the phyllosphere region. To examine the main connecting nodes in the microbial interaction network, a co-occurrence analysis was performed. Certain nonpathogenic microorganisms, such as Pseudomonas, Aureionas, and Bulleromyces, could serve as key taxa within the network and hold promise as effective biological control agents against tea blister blight. Furthermore, the alterations in key biochemical constituents in tea leaves were examined, and the presence of abundant ECGs and select alkane components was shown to potentially contribute positively to the ability of tea plants to resist fungal infection. Conclusions We provide the dynamic characterization of in the phyllosphere microbiome of tea leaves responses to the development of tea blister blight disease. These results will help deepen the understanding of the relationship between the phyllosphere microbiome and tea plant health.