<b>Antifungal mechanism of citral via </b><b><i>MoCHS5</i></b><b> and </b><b><i>MoCHS7</i></b><b> inhibition leading to the disruption of cell wall integrity in </b><b><i>Magnaporthe oryzae</i></b>

In this study, we investigated the antifungal mechanism of citral on Magnaporthe oryzae by focusing on the key chitin synthase genes MoCHS5 and MoCHS7. Through a series of experiments with knockout, overexpression, and complementary strains, we demonstrated that citral inhibits the expression of MoCHS5 and MoCHS7, leading to disrupted cell wall integrity in the fungus.