Transcriptome and metabolome profiling unveiled mechanisms of tea (Camellia sinensis) quality improvement by moderate drought on pre-harvest shoots. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Meifeng; Liu, Jianjun; Zhou, Yuping; Zhou, Siqin; Zhang, Shuai; Tong, Huarong; Zhao, Aichun
• Is Part Of: Phytochemistry. Volume 180(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Camellia sinensis var. assamica -- Theaceae -- Drought -- Transcriptome -- Metabolome -- Isoflavonoids -- Glycosylflavonoids -- Lipids; ABA abscisic acid -- ADH3 alcohol dehydrogenase 3 -- AFP1-like ninja-family protein AFP1-like -- ALA2-like phospholipid-transporting ATPase 2-like -- ANR anthocyanidin reductase -- ANS anthocyanidin synthase -- AOS allene oxide synthase -- AS-like glucosyltransferase AS-like -- CHI chalcone isomerase -- CK control -- DAD1 phospholipase A(1) DAD1 -- DEG differentially expressed genes -- DFR dihydroflavonol 4-reductase -- DGK7-like diacylglycerol kinase 7-like -- ECG epicatechin gallate -- EGCG epigallocatechin gallate -- ERF-WIN1-like ethylene-responsive transcription factor WIN1-like -- FLS flavonol synthase -- FW full watered -- FPKM fragments per kilobases per million reads -- GDSL sequence with conserved GxSxG motif -- GO gene ontology -- HCA hierarchical cluster analysis -- JA jasmonate -- KCS12-like 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase 12-like -- KCS19-like 3-ketoacyl-CoA synthase 19-like -- KEGG Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes -- LAR leucoanthocyanidin reductase -- LTP1-like non-specific lipid-transfer protein 1-like -- MGLL monoacylglycerol lipase activity -- MI mild drought -- MO moderate drought -- MTACP acyl carrier protein -- PAL phenylalanine ammonia lyase -- PCA principle component analysis -- PCC Pearson's correlation coefficient -- PKSB type III polyketide synthase B -- PLD1-like phospholipase D alpha 1-like -- qRT-PCR quantitative Real-time PCR -- SE severe drought -- SWC soil water content -- TF transcription factor -- TS theanine synthetase -- UFGT anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosyltransferase -- UGT UDP-glycosyltransferases -- UPLC-MS/MS ultra-performance liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometer; Botanical chemistry -- Periodicals; Biochemistry -- Periodicals; Botany -- Periodicals; Chimie végétale -- Périodiques; 572.2
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phytochem.2020.112515
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0031-9422

Abstract

Abstract: Conventional wisdom holds that tea ( Camellia sinensis ) quality can be improved by drought. To clarify the underlying mechanism, a conjoint analysis of transcriptome and metabolome profiling was carried out in tea shoots harvested under different soil water contents (SWCs). Drought had little impact on theanine, catechins and caffeine in field conditions. Besides the flavor contributions of amino acid and their derivatives, organic acids, and nucleotides and their derivatives, the obviously increased isoflavonoids and glycosylflavonoids and the sharply decreased lipids are suggested to play key roles, which is mainly due to substantial increases of type III polyketide synthase B ( PKSB ), flavonol synthase/flavanone 3-hydroxylase (FLS ), and UDP-glycosyltransferases ( UGTs ), as well as the significant repression of anthocyanidin synthase ( ANS ) and R2R3MYBs, and downregulated lipid metabolisms. Genes of GDSL esterase/lipase ( GDSL ), abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonate (JA) signaling were found to play important roles in both flavonoid accumulation and lipid reduction. These findings increased our understanding of how moderate drought improves taste and aroma of tea by interfering in the metabolism of fresh leaves, which provides new insight into balancing compounds in pre-harvest tea shoots. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Moderate drought improves tea flavor by balancing levels of specialised metabolites. Differentially accumulated flavonoids and lipids played a key role in tea flavor. PKSB, FLS, UGTs, ANS and R2R3MYBs played important roles in flavonoid accumulation. JA and ABA signaling were involved in the rebalance of the specialised metabolites.