Tea Quality Alterations Arising from Plant Diseases: Molecular Pathogenesis and Noncoding Ribonucleic Acid-Driven Host–Pathogen Communication

Tea plants, particularly Camellia sinensis var. assamica from Assam, India, and var. sinensis from China, are a vital crop grown in over 45 countries. Fungal diseases such as blister, gray, and brown blight threaten production by damaging harvestable shoots. Climate change and shifting farming practices have exacerbated their vulnerability to these pathogens. Current management strategies include agronomic practices, fungicides, biocontrol agents, and resistant cultivars, but significant knowledge gaps remain. This review explores the roles of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in tea plant responses to fungal pathogens. Understanding ncRNA interactions could uncover new disease management strategies. The impact of fungal pathogens on tea quality and secondary metabolites, crucial for flavor, highlights the need for innovative solutions. Modern sequencing and bioinformatics tools, as well as the interactions between coding- and ncRNAs and their functional studies, offer opportunities to investigate ncRNAs like microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, and circRNAs. These investigations provide valuable insights into gene regulation and defense mechanisms, which can inform targeted management approaches.