Gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is an important cause of postharvest loss of strawberry fruit. In the present study, we found that benzyl-isothiocyanate (BITC), a natural compound widely existing in cruciferous vegetables with anti-cancer effect, was effective in controlling postharvest gray mold of strawberry fruit, and also strongly inhibited the natural decay of strawberry. The mode of action of BITC against B. cinerea was mainly attributed to its direct inhibition on spore germination. BITC application could disrupt the plasma membrane integrity and induce ROS accumulation in the spores of B. cinerea, eventually leading to cell death. To further investigate the inhibitory mechanisms of BITC against B. cinerea, we conducted a comparative transcriptome analysis. Most of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) participated in the metabolism of carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid, the genetic information processing, as well as the biosynthesis of other secondary metabolites. This study provides a safe and promising method to control strawberry postharvest diseases based on BITC, and gets insight into the antimicrobial mechanism of BITC.

灰霉病由灰霉病菌引起，是草莓果实采后损失的重要原因。在本研究中，我们发现异硫氰酸苄酯（BITC）是一种广泛存在于十字花科蔬菜中的具有抗癌作用的天然化合物，可有效控制草莓果实采后灰霉病，并能强烈抑制草莓的自然腐烂。BITC 对B. cinerea的作用方式主要归因于其直接抑制孢子萌发。BITC 的应用可能会破坏质膜的完整性并诱导灰霉病孢子中 ROS 的积累，最终导致细胞死亡。进一步研究 BITC 对B. cinerea的抑制机制，我们进行了比较转录组分析。大多数差异表达基因（DEGs）参与碳水化合物、脂质和氨基酸的代谢、遗传信息处理以及其他次级代谢产物的生物合成。本研究为基于 BITC 防治草莓采后病害提供了一种安全且有前景的方法，并深入了解 BITC 的抗菌机制。