Abstract Fusarium head blight (FHB), caused by Fusarium graminearum , severely reduces wheat yield and grain quality due to deoxynivalenol (DON) contamination. To develop sustainable alternatives to synthetic fungicides, we evaluated the antifungal activity of tea infusion. It significantly inhibited F. graminearum mycelial growth, conidiation, and germination. Transmission electron microscopy revealed hyphal cell wall thickening and deformation, enlarged vacuoles, and protoplasmic leakage, leading to cell death. Transcriptomic analysis showed that tea infusion disrupts ribosome biogenesis, tRNA methylation, hydrolase activity, and pathogenesis-related pathways. Among the differentially expressed genes, Fg014 , encoding a hydrolase, was downregulated. Functional characterization of the Δ Fg014 mutant revealed reduced radial growth, impaired host penetration, and attenuated virulence on wheat spikes and maize silks, along with decreased trichothecene biosynthesis ( Tri ) gene expression and DON production. Notably, tea infusion application suppressed disease development and DON accumulation in wheat without inducing pathogenesis-related ( PR ) gene expression, indicating that its effect stems from direct antifungal activity rather than host defense activation. Although individual tea components—epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), caffeine, L-theanine, and theobromine—inhibited fungal growth, their efficacy was lower than that of the full tea infusion, suggesting synergistic interactions among constituents. Collectively, tea infusion suppresses F. graminearum by targeting multiple cellular and virulence pathways, supporting its potential as an environmentally friendly strategy for green control of FHB in sustainable agriculture.
Li et al. (Mon,) studied this question.