Persimmon anthracnose, a severe disease caused by the hemibiotrophic fungus Colletotrichum horii, poses a substantial threat to China’s persimmon industry. Previous research showed that ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ cultivar exhibits strong resistance to anthracnose. Notably, ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ branches exhibit greater lignification compared with the susceptible ‘Fuping Jianshi’ cultivar. In this study, higher lignin content was observed in ‘Kangbing Jianshi’ compared with ‘Fuping Jianshi’, and this difference was associated with disease resistance. Transcriptome and metabolome analyses revealed that the majority of differentially expressed genes and differentially accumulated metabolites were primarily enriched in the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis and lignin synthesis pathways. Furthermore, significant upregulation of DkCAD1, a pivotal gene involved in lignin metabolism, was observed in the resistant cultivar when inoculated with C. horii. Transient overexpression of DkCAD1 substantially increased lignin content and improved resistance to C. horii in a susceptible cultivar. Furthermore, through yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assays, we identified two WRKY transcription factors, DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10, which interacts with the DkCAD1 promoter and induces its activity. Overexpression of DkWRKY8 and DkWRKY10 not only increased leaf lignin content but also enhanced persimmon tolerance to C. horii. Moreover, the expression levels of DkCAD1, DkWRKY8, and DkWRKY10 were significantly increased in response to salicylic acid and jasmonic acid in the resistant cultivar. These findings enhance our understanding of the molecular functions of DkWRKY8, DkWRKY10, and DkCAD1 in persimmons, as well as their involvement in molecular breeding processes in persimmons.

柿炭疽病是由半生物营养真菌Colletotrichum horii引起的严重病害，对我国柿产业构成重大威胁。前期研究表明‘抗病健石’品种具有较强的炭疽病抗性。值得注意的是，与易受影响的“富平健石”品种相比，“抗病健石”枝条表现出更大的木质化。在本研究中，与“富平健实”相比，“康病健实”的木质素含量较高，这种差异与抗病性有关。转录组和代谢组分析表明，大多数差异表达基因和差异积累的代谢物主要富集于苯丙素生物合成和木质素合成途径。此外，当接种C. horii时，在抗性品种中观察到DkCAD1 （参与木质素代谢的关键基因）显着上调。 DkCAD1的瞬时过表达显着增加了易感品种的木质素含量并提高了对C. horii的抗性。此外，通过酵母单杂交 (Y1H) 测定，我们鉴定了两种 WRKY 转录因子 DkWRKY8 和 DkWRKY10，它们与DkCAD1启动子相互作用并诱导其活性。 DkWRKY8和DkWRKY10的过表达不仅增加了叶片木质素含量，而且增强了柿子对C 的耐受性。堀井。此外，在抗性品种中， DkCAD1 、 DkWRKY8和DkWRKY10的表达水平响应于水杨酸和茉莉酸而显着增加。 这些发现增强了我们对DkWRKY8 、 DkWRKY10和DkCAD1在柿子中的分子功能及其参与柿子分子育种过程的理解。