Bioscience Methods 2025, Vol.16, No.6, 289-298 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/bm 289 Feature Review Open Access Genetic Tools for Enhancing Tea Plant Resistance to Biotic Stress Kaiwen Liang Comprehensive Utilization Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resouces, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: kaiwen.liang@hitar.org Bioscience Methods, 2025, Vol.16, No.6 doi: 10.5376/bm.2025.16.0028 Received: 25 Sep., 2025 Accepted: 06 Nov., 2025 Published: 26 Nov., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Liang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Liang K.W., 2025, Genetic tools for enhancing tea plant resistance to biotic stress, Bioscience Methods, 16(6): 289-298 (doi: 10.5376/bm.2025.16.0028) Abstract The tea tree (Camellia sinensis) is a crop of significant economic and cultural value worldwide. However, its yield and quality are often affected by various biological stresses, including fungal diseases and pest attacks. Against the backdrop of intensified ecological pressure and restricted pesticide use, enhancing tea trees' resistance to pests and diseases has become a key task for achieving sustainable development of the tea industry. This study systematically explored the genetic tools used to enhance the resistance of tea plants to biological stress, integrating the latest achievements in traditional breeding, molecular biology and modern biotechnology. It reviewed the genetic and physiological basis of tea plant resistance traits, focusing on key resistance genes, their expression patterns and regulatory mechanisms. Based on the comparison of traditional breeding methods with modern molecular strategies (such as molecular marker-assisted selection MAS, RNA interference RNAi, CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology), the advantages of precision breeding in the directional enhanced resistance pathway were demonstrated. The functions of defense signaling networks (especially jasmonic acid JA, salicylic acid SA and ethylene ET pathways) as well as transcription factors and epigenetic regulatory factors in resistance expression were also explored. This study provides a comprehensive overview and practical guidance on the genetic techniques required to enhance the biological stress resistance of tea plants, aiming to promote the in-depth integration of tea plant resistance breeding research and industrial application. Keywords Tea tree (Camellia sinensis); Biological stress; Molecular breeding; Gene editing; Regulatory mechanism 1 Introduction Tea plants are not the kind of crops that are insensitive to pests and diseases. Fungi such as anthrax, basidiomycetes, and Polytrichospora camellia have been entrenched in major tea-growing areas for years, causing a lot of trouble for the yield and quality of tea (Pandey et al., 2021). If diseases are the invisible enemies of tea plants, then the damage caused by some pests is more obvious - armyworm, armyworm, Ornuk's armyworm, and aphid fly. Their gnawing not only damages the leaves but also triggers a series of complex defense responses in tea plants (Chen et al., 2024). Worse still, these stresses can also disrupt the metabolic rhythm within plants, such as affecting the synthesis of catechins and flavonoids, thus reducing the original quality. Of course, to control these problems, it is not possible to rely solely on insecticides and fungicides for long-term effectiveness. Although chemical control measures take effect quickly, they also bring about many concerns regarding ecology and health. At present, policies are becoming stricter and consumers are becoming more picky. It is obvious that relying solely on pesticides to maintain tea production capacity will not go far. So, more attention began to turn to the tea trees' own resistance. Reducing external input by enhancing its "immunity" against pests and diseases sounds not only environmentally friendly but also more in line with the current demands of green agriculture (Hazarika et al., 2024). To truly enable tea trees to withstand these environmental challenges, the key may not lie in "fighting monsters", but in "practicing skills". By exploring and regulating genes and metabolic pathways related to resistance to make tea plants stronger themselves is the focus of many current studies (Chen et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2024). Although this approach is not as immediate as spraying pesticides, once a genetic resistance foundation is established, the "lasting combat effectiveness" of tea trees will be greatly enhanced, and cultivation can become more stable and long-term. This study reviews the main biological stresses affecting tea plants and emphasizes the urgent need to enhance the resistance of tea plants through genetic means. This study aims to summarize the current understanding of the
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