Unveiling the Mechanisms for the Plant Volatile Organic Compound Linalool To Control Gray Mold on Strawberry Fruits

Fungal infections significantly alter the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by plants, but the mechanisms for VOCs affecting fungal infections of plants remain largely unknown. Here, we found that infection by Botrytis cinerea upregulated linalool production by strawberries and fumigation with linalool was able to inhibit the infection of fruits by the fungus. Linalool treatment downregulated the expression of rate-limiting enzymes in the ergosterol biosynthesis pathway, and this reduced the ergosterol content in the fungi cell membrane and impaired membrane integrity. Linalool treatment also caused damage to mitochondrial membranes by collapsing mitochondrial membrane potential and also downregulated genes involved in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production, resulting in a significant decrease in the ATP content. Linalool treatment increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), in response to which the treated fungal cells produced more of the ROS scavenger pyruvate. RNA-Seq and proteomic analysis data showed that linalool treatment slowed the rates of transcription and translation.