Several Pestalotiopsis-like species cause gray blight disease in tea plants, resulting in severe tea production losses. However, systematic and comprehensive research on the diversity, geographical distribution, and pathogenicity of pathogenic species associated with tea plants in China is limited. In this study, 168 Pestalotiopsis-like isolates were obtained from diseased tea plant leaves from 13 primary tea-producing provinces and cities in China. Based on a multilocus (internal transcribed spacer, translation elongation factor 1-α, and β-tubulin gene region) phylogenetic analysis coupled with an assessment of conidial characteristics, 20 Neopestalotiopsis unclassified isolates, seven Pestalotiopsis species, including two novel (Pestalotiopsis menhaiensis and Pestalotiopsis sichuanensis), four known (Pestalotiopsis camelliae, Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis, Pestalotiopsis kenyana, and Pestalotiopsis rhodomyrtus) and one indistinguishable species, and three Pseudopestalotiopsis species, including two known (Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis and Pseudopestalotiopsis chinensis) and one indistinguishable species, were identified. This study is the first to evaluate Pestalotiopsis chamaeropis on tea plants in China. The geographical distribution and pathogenicity tests showed Pseudopestalotiopsis camelliae-sinensis to be the dominant cause of gray blight of tea plants in China. In vitro antifungal assays demonstrated that theobromine not only derepressed mycelial growth of the 29 representative isolates but also increased their growth. Correlation analysis revealed a linear positive relationship between the mycelial growth rate and pathogenicity (P = 0.0148).

Anthracnose causes severe losses of tea production in China. Although genes and biological processes involved in anthracnose resistance have been reported in other plants, the molecular response to anthracnose in tea plant is unknown. We used the susceptible tea cultivar Longjing 43 and the resistant cultivar Zhongcha 108 as materials and compared transcriptome changes in the leaves of both cultivars following Colletotrichum fructicola inoculation. In all, 9015 and 8624 genes were differentially expressed between the resistant and susceptible cultivars and their controls (0 h), respectively. In both cultivars, the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in 215 pathways, including responses to sugar metabolism, phytohormones, reactive oxygen species (ROS), biotic stimuli and signalling, transmembrane transporter activity, protease activity and signalling receptor activity, but DEG expression levels were higher in Zhongcha 108 than in Longjing 43. Moreover, functional enrichment analysis of the DEGs showed that hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) metabolism, cell death, secondary metabolism, and carbohydrate metabolism are involved in the defence of Zhongcha 108, and 88 key genes were identified. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network demonstrated that putative mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades are activated by resistance (R) genes and mediate downstream defence responses. Histochemical analysis subsequently validated the strong hypersensitive response (HR) and H₂O₂ accumulation that occurred around the hyphal infection sites in Zhongcha 108. Overall, our results indicate that the HR and H₂O₂ are critical mechanisms in tea plant defence against anthracnose and may be activated by R genes via MAPK cascades.

Targeting “undruggable” targets with intrinsically disordered structures is of great significance for the treatment of disease. The transcription factor c‐Myc controls global gene expression and is an attractive therapeutic target for multiple types of cancers. However, due to the lack of defined ligand binding pockets, targeted c‐Myc have thus far been unsuccessful. Herein, to address the dilemma of lacking ligands, an efficient and high throughput aptamer screening strategy is established, named polystyrene microwell plate‐based systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (microwell‐SELEX), and identify the specific aptamer (MA9C1) against c‐Myc. The multifunctional aptamer‐based Proteolysis Targeting Chimeras (PROTAC) for proteolysis of the c‐Myc (ProMyc) is developed using the aptamer MA9C1 as the ligand. ProMyc not only significantly degrades c‐Myc by the ubiquitin‐proteasome system, but also reduces the Max protein, synergistically inhibiting c‐Myc transcriptional activity. Combination of the artificial cyclization and anti‐PD‐L1 aptamer (PA1)‐based delivery system, circular PA1‐ProMyc chimeras achieve tumor regression in the xenograft tumor model, laying a solid foundation for the development of efficacious c‐Myc degrader for the clinic. Therefore, this aptamer‐based degrader provides an invaluable potential degrader in drug discovery and anti‐tumor therapy, offering a promising degrader to overcome the challenge of targeting intractable targets.

Soil acidification has emerged as a critical limiting factor for the sustainable development of the tea industry. In this article, a comprehensive review of 63 original research articles focusing on the impact of amendments on the pH in tea plantations soil was conducted. Through meta-analysis, the effect of applying soil amendments to increase the pH of tea plantation soil and its influencing factors were investigated. The results revealed that lime had a significant impact, increasing the pH by 18% in tea plantation soil, while rapeseed cake had a minimal (2%) effect. It was observed that as the quantity of amendments and pH levels increased, so did their impact on the pH of tea plantation soil. Subgroup analysis within biochar showed varying effects, depending on soil pH, with an 11% increase in acidic soil. Among these amendments, biochar produced at pyrolysis temperature ranging from 501–600 °C and derived from animal waste demonstrated significant effect on increasing soil pH in tea plantations by 9% and 12%, respectively. This study offers valuable insights into improving and ensuring the health and sustainability of tea plantations.