MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important for plant growth and responses to environmental stresses via post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. Tea, which is primarily produced from one bud and two tender leaves of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), is one of the most popular non-alcoholic beverages worldwide owing to its abundance of secondary metabolites. A large number of miRNAs have been identified in various plants, including non-model species. However, due to the lack of reference genome sequences and/or information of tea plant genome survey scaffold sequences, discovery of miRNAs has been limited in C. sinensis. Using small RNA sequencing, combined with our recently obtained genome survey data, we have identified and analyzed 175 conserved and 83 novel miRNAs mainly in one bud and two tender leaves of the tea plant. Among these, 93 conserved and 18 novel miRNAs were validated using miRNA microarray hybridization. In addition, the expression pattern of 11 conserved and 8 novel miRNAs were validated by stem-loop-qRT-PCR. A total of 716 potential target genes of identified miRNAs were predicted. Further, Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that most of the target genes were primarily involved in stress response and enzymes related to phenylpropanoid biosynthesis. The predicted targets of 4 conserved miRNAs were further validated by 5’RLM-RACE. A negative correlation between expression profiles of 3 out of 4 conserved miRNAs (csn-miR160a-5p, csn-miR164a, csn-miR828 and csn-miR858a) and their targets (ARF17, NAC100, WER and MYB12 transcription factor) were observed. In summary, the present study is one of few such studies on miRNA detection and identification in the tea plant. The predicted target genes of majority of miRNAs encoded enzymes, transcription factors, and functional proteins. The miRNA–target transcription factor gene interactions may provide important clues about the regulatory mechanism of these miRNAs in the tea plant. The data reported in this study will make a huge contribution to knowledge on the potential miRNA regulators of the secondary metabolism pathway and other important biological processes in C. sinensis.

(1) Aims: This study was aimed to investigate the effects of organic and inorganic fertilizer application on the soil nutrients and microbiota in tea garden soil. (2) Method: Illumina Hiseq sequencing technique was conducted to analyze the microbial diversity and density in different fertilizer-applied tea garden soil. (3) Results: The results showed that Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria were the predominant bacterial species observed in the tea garden soil. Besides, the relative abundance of Basidiomycota, Ascomycota and Zygomycota fungal species were higher in the tea garden soil. Correlation analysis revealed that Acidibacter and Acidothermus were significantly correlated with chemical properties (such as total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphorus (TP) and available phosphorus (AP) contents) of the tea garden soil. Furthermore, all these microbes were abundant in medium rapeseed cake (MRSC) + green manure (GM) treated tea garden soil. (4) Conclusion: Based on the obtained results, we conclude that the application of MRSC + GM could be a preferred fertilizer to increase the soil nutrients (TOC, TP and AP content) and microbial population in the tea garden soil.

The tea plant ( Camellia sinensis ) is susceptible to anthracnose disease that causes considerable crop loss and affects the yield and quality of tea. Multiple Colletotrichum spp. are the causative agents of this disease, which spreads quickly in warm and humid climates. During plant–pathogen interactions, resistant cultivars defend themselves against the hemibiotrophic pathogen by activating defence signalling pathways, whereas the pathogen suppresses plant defences in susceptible varieties. Various fungicides have been used to control this disease on susceptible plants, but these fungicide residues are dangerous to human health and cause fungicide resistance in pathogens. The problem‐solving approaches to date are the development of resistant cultivars and ecofriendly biocontrol strategies to achieve sustainable tea cultivation and production. Understanding the infection stages of Colletotrichum , tea plant resistance mechanisms, and induced plant defence against Colletotrichum is essential to support sustainable disease management practices in the field. This review therefore summarizes the current knowledge of the identified causative agent of tea plant anthracnose, the infection strategies and pathogenicity of C. gloeosporioides , anthracnose disease resistance mechanisms, and the caffeine‐induced defence response against Colletotrichum infection. The information reported in this review will advance our understanding of host–pathogen interactions and eventually help us to develop new disease control strategies.

The organic movement have considered itself the growing drive for today’s consumers purchasing behaviour and growing attention from mainstream media. However, it has not fully received the attention to increase the organic tea industry to benefit humanity and natural ecosystems. The effect is that the future is uncertain as current challenges continue to pose threats to the industry. A systematic review was done to examine the overview of organic tea production challenges and prospects within the scope of sustainable farming. The findings showed that the unprecedented challenges are currently facing the global organic tea industry, which includes high competition for agricultural land, convention of organic lands for other purposes and urbanization activities in tea-growing countries. Biotic and abiotic stresses are major limits to agricultural production. Lack of knowledge on organic practices and high input costs affect the adoption of organic farming. However, the growth and new marketing trends in Asia-Pacific is an excellent sustainable indicator. Besides, stakeholders commitment is needed to implement and comply with applicable laws and supports to ensure industry development and sustainability. The current study is the first to have put together literatures on the global challenges and prospects of the organic tea industry within sustainable agriculture.

MicroRNAs play a central role in responses to biotic stressors through their interactions with their target mRNAs. Tea plant (Camellia sinensis L.), an important beverage crop, is vulnerable to tea geometrid and anthracnose disease that causes considerable crop loss and tea production worldwide. Sustainable production of tea in the current scenario to biotic factors is major challenges. To overcome the problem of biotic stresses, high-throughput sequencing (HTS) with bioinformatics analyses has been used as an effective approach for the identification of stress-responsive miRNAs and their regulatory functions in tea plant. These stress-responsive miRNAs can be utilized for miRNA-mediated gene silencing to enhance stress tolerance in tea plant. Therefore, this review summarizes the current understanding of miRNAs regulatory functions in tea plant responding to Ectropis oblique and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides attacks for future miRNA research. Also, it highlights the utilization of miRNA-mediated gene silencing strategies for developing biotic stress tolerant tea plant.