Jasmonate signaling drives defense responses against Alternaria alternata in chrysanthemum

BACKGROUND: Black spot disease caused by the necrotrophic fungus Alternaria spp. is one of the most devastating diseases affecting Chrysanthemum morifolium. There is currently no effective way to prevent chrysanthemum black spot. RESULTS: We revealed that pre-treatment of chrysanthemum leaves with the methy jasmonate (MeJA) significantly reduces their susceptibility to Alternaria alternata. To understand how MeJA treatment induces resistance, we monitored the dynamics of metabolites and the transcriptome in leaves after MeJA treatment following A. alternata infection. JA signaling affected the resistance of plants to pathogens through cell wall modification, Ca(2+) regulation, reactive oxygen species (ROS) regulation, mitogen‐activated protein kinase cascade and hormonal signaling processes, and the accumulation of anti-fungal and anti-oxidant metabolites. Furthermore, the expression of genes associated with these functions was verified by reverse transcription quantitative PCR and transgenic assays. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that MeJA pre-treatment could be a potential orchestrator of a broad-spectrum defense response that may help establish an ecologically friendly pest control strategy and offer a promising way of priming plants to induce defense responses against A. alternata. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-023-09671-0.