Naringenin restricts the colonization and growth of Ralstonia solanacearum in tobacco mutant KCB-1

Abstract Bacterial wilt severely jeopardizes plant growth and causes enormous economic loss in the production of many crops, including tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Here, we first demonstrated that the roots of bacterial wilt-resistant tobacco mutant KCB-1 can limit the growth and reproduction of Ralstonia solanacearum. Secondly, we demonstrated that KCB-1 specifically induced an upregulation of naringenin content in root metabolites and root secretions. Further experiments showed that naringenin can disrupt the structure of R. solanacearum, inhibit the growth and reproduction of R. solanacearum, and exert a controlling effect on bacterial wilt. Exogenous naringenin application activated the resistance response in tobacco by inducing the burst of reactive oxygen species and salicylic acid deposition, leading to transcriptional reprogramming in tobacco roots. Additionally, both external application of naringenin in CB-1 and overexpression of the Nicotiana tabacum chalcone isomerase (NtCHI) gene, which regulates naringenin biosynthesis, in CB-1 resulted in a higher complexity of their inter-root bacterial communities than in untreated CB-1. Further analysis showed that naringenin could be used as a marker for resistant tobacco. The present study provides a reference for analyzing the resistance mechanism of bacterial wilt-resistant tobacco and controlling tobacco bacterial wilt.