Background Jasmonic acid (JA) is a plant hormone involved in regulating developmental and growth controls as well as photosynthesis. In addition, this hormone protects the plant against insects and has good applications in agriculture, the flavored industry and other fields. Filamentous fungus generally produces JA using liquid static culture. In the present study, a solid‐state fermentation (SSF) method is developed for high production of JA using Lasiodiplodia iranensis. Main methods and major results By selecting the solid substrate and optimizing the initial water content, inoculum volume, loading volume and other culture conditions, the maximum JA yield reached 5306.38 mg kg–1 when fermented for 12 days in a petri dish containing a medium with crushed wheat as the solid substrate and 75% initial water content. The logistic and Luedeking–Piret models were used to characterize the relationship between microbial growth and product synthesis in the SSF process, and the maximum JA production is predicted to be 5263.23 mg kg–1, which is close to the experimental value. Liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS/MS) is used to examine the metabolic changes that develop during fermentation. The results indicate that JA biosynthesis occurs in the α‐linolenic acid metabolic pathway, of which 13(S)‐HpOTrE is a key intermediate metabolite and both 13(S)‐HOTrE and traumatic acid are byproducts of the branches of its synthesis. Conclusions and implications The results of this study provide a method for obtaining high JA yields by SSF, and offer new insights for understanding the production of JA by fungal fermentation.

Lasiodiplodia sp. is a typical opportunistic plant pathogen, which can also be classified as an endophytic fungus. In this study, the genome of a jasmonic-acid-producing Lasiodiplodia iranensis DWH-2 was sequenced and analyzed to understand its application value. The results showed that the L. iranensis DWH-2 genome was 43.01 Mb in size with a GC content of 54.82%. A total of 11,224 coding genes were predicted, among which 4776 genes were annotated based on Gene Ontology. Furthermore, the core genes involved in the pathogenicity of the genus Lasiodiplodia were determined for the first time based on pathogen–host interactions. Eight Carbohydrate-Active enzymes (CAZymes) genes related to 1,3-β-glucan synthesis were annotated based on the CAZy database and three relatively complete known biosynthetic gene clusters were identified based on the Antibiotics and Secondary Metabolites Analysis Shell database, which were associated with the synthesis of 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene, dimethylcoprogen, and (R)-melanin. Moreover, eight genes associated with jasmonic acid synthesis were detected in pathways related to lipid metabolism. These findings fill the gap in the genomic data of high jasmonate-producing strains.