Metabolites and Transcriptional Profiling Analysis Reveal the Molecular Mechanisms of the Anthocyanin Metabolism in the “Zijuan” Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis var. assamica)

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is a popular beverage all over the world and a number of studies have focused on the genetic uniqueness of tea and its cultivars. However, molecular mechanisms underlying these phenomena are largely undefined. In this report, based on expression data available from public databases, we performed a series of analyses to identify genes probably relevant to the uniqueness ofC. sinensisand two of its cultivars (LJ43 and ZH2). Evolutionary analyses showed that the evolutionary rates of genes involved in the pathways were not significantly different amongC. sinensis,C. oleifera, andC. azalea. Interestingly, a number of gene families, including genes involved in the pathways synthesizing iconic secondary metabolites of tea plant, were significantly upregulated, expressed inC. sinensis(LJ43) when compared toC. azalea, and this may partially explain its higher content of flavonoid, theanine, and caffeine. Further investigation showed that nonsynonymous mutations may partially contribute to the differences between the two cultivars ofC. sinensis, such as the chlorina and higher contents of amino acids in ZH2. Genes identified as candidates are probably relevant to the uniqueness ofC. sinensisand its cultivars should be good candidates for subsequent functional analyses and marker-assisted breeding.

Download Full-text

Transcriptome and Expression Profiling Analysis of Recalcitrant Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) Seeds Sensitive to Dehydration

International Journal of Genomics ◽

10.1155/2018/5963797 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2018 ◽

pp. 1-11 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiaofang Jin ◽

Dandan Liu ◽

Linlong Ma ◽

Ziming Gong ◽

Dan Cao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Camellia Sinensis ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

De Novo ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Digital Gene Expression ◽

Tea Plant ◽

Pcr Analysis ◽

Woody Perennial ◽

Genome Wide ◽

Mechanism Of Dehydration

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) is an economically important woody perennial nonalcoholic health beverage crop. Tea seeds are categorized as recalcitrant and are sensitive to dehydration treatment. However, the molecular basis of this phenomenon has not been investigated. Thus, we analyzed the genome-wide expression profiles of three dehydration stages using RNA-Seq and digital gene expression (DGE) technologies. We performed de novo assembly and obtained a total of 91,925 nonredundant unigenes, of which 58,472 were extensively annotated. By a hierarchical clustering of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), we found that 8929 DEGs were downregulated and 5875 DEGs were upregulated during dehydration treatment. A series of genes related to ABA biosynthesis and signal transduction, transcription factor, antioxidant enzyme, LEA protein, and proline metabolism that have been reported to function in dehydration process were found to be downregulated. Additionally, the expression profiles of 12 selected genes related to tea seed dehydration treatment were confirmed by qRT-PCR analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first genome-wide study elucidating the possible molecular mechanisms of sensitivity of recalcitrant tea seeds to dehydration. The results obtained in this study contribute to the preservation of tea seeds as genetic resources and can also be used to explore the mechanism of dehydration sensitivity of other recalcitrant seeds.

Download Full-text

Transcriptional profiling analysis in Populus yunnanensis provides insights into molecular mechanisms of sexual differences in salinity tolerance

Journal of Experimental Botany ◽

10.1093/jxb/ers064 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 63 (10) ◽

pp. 3709-3726 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Hao Jiang ◽

Shuming Peng ◽

Sheng Zhang ◽

Xinguo Li ◽

Helena Korpelainen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Salinity Tolerance ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Transcriptional Profiling ◽

Sexual Differences ◽

Profiling Analysis

Download Full-text

Comparative transcriptomic analysis of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) reveals key genes involved in pistil deletion

Hereditas ◽

10.1186/s41065-020-00153-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 157 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yufei Liu ◽

Dandan Pang ◽

Yiping Tian ◽

Youyong Li ◽

Huibing Jiang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Camellia Sinensis ◽

Growth Process ◽

Molecular Mechanisms ◽

Acc Oxidase ◽

Tea Plant ◽

Economic Life ◽

Ethylene Synthesis ◽

Flower Buds ◽

Reproductive Growth ◽

Complex Biological Process

Abstract Background The growth process of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) includes vegetative growth and reproductive growth. The reproductive growth period is relatively long (approximately 1.5 years), during which a large number of nutrients are consumed, resulting in reduced tea yield and quality, accelerated aging, and shortened economic life of the tea plant. The formation of unisexual and sterile flowers can weaken the reproductive growth process of the tea plant. To further clarify the molecular mechanisms of pistil deletion in the tea plant, we investigated the transcriptome profiles in the pistil-deficient tea plant (CRQS), wild tea plant (WT), and cultivated tea plant (CT) by using RNA-Seq. Results A total of 3683 differentially expressed genes were observed between CRQS and WT flower buds, with 2064 upregulated and 1619 downregulated in the CRQS flower buds. These genes were mainly involved in the regulation of molecular function and biological processes. Ethylene synthesis–related ACC synthase genes were significantly upregulated and ACC oxidase genes were significantly downregulated. Further analysis revealed that one of the WIP transcription factors involved in ethylene synthesis was significantly upregulated. Moreover, AP1 and STK, genes related to flower development, were significantly upregulated and downregulated, respectively. Conclusions The transcriptome analysis indicated that the formation of flower buds with pistil deletion is a complex biological process. Our study identified ethylene synthesis, transcription factor WIP, and A and D-class genes, which warrant further investigation to understand the cause of pistil deletion in flower bud formation.

Download Full-text