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Li JW, Zhou P, Hu ZH, Teng RM, Wang YX, Li T, Xiong AS, Li XH, Chen X, Zhuang J. CsPAT1, a GRAS transcription factor, promotes lignin accumulation by antagonistic interacting with CsWRKY13 in tea plants. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 118:1312-1326. [PMID: 38319894 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.16670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Lignin is an important component of plant cell walls and plays crucial roles in the essential agronomic traits of tea quality and tenderness. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of lignin biosynthesis in tea plants remain unclear. CsWRKY13 acts as a negative regulator of lignin biosynthesis in tea plants. In this study, we identified a GRAS transcription factor, phytochrome A signal transduction 1 (CsPAT1), that interacts with CsWRKY13. Silencing CsPAT1 expression in tea plants and heterologous overexpression in Arabidopsis demonstrated that CsPAT1 positively regulates lignin accumulation. Further investigation revealed that CsWRKY13 directly binds to the promoters of CsPAL and CsC4H and suppresses transcription of CsPAL and CsC4H. CsPAT1 indirectly affects the promoter activities of CsPAL and CsC4H by interacting with CsWRKY13, thereby facilitating lignin biosynthesis in tea plants. Compared with the expression of CsWRKY13 alone, the co-expression of CsPAT1 and CsWRKY13 in Oryza sativa significantly increased lignin biosynthesis. Conversely, compared with the expression of CsPAT1 alone, the co-expression of CsPAT1 and CsWRKY13 in O. sativa significantly reduced lignin accumulation. These results demonstrated the antagonistic regulation of the lignin biosynthesis pathway by CsPAT1 and CsWRKY13. These findings improve our understanding of lignin biosynthesis mechanisms in tea plants and provide insights into the role of the GRAS transcription factor family in lignin accumulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Wen Li
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ping Zhou
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhi-Hang Hu
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Rui-Min Teng
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yong-Xin Wang
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Tong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Ai-Sheng Xiong
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Genetics & Germplasm Enhancement and Utilization, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xing-Hui Li
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Xuan Chen
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
| | - Jing Zhuang
- Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China
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Han M, Lin S, Zhu B, Tong W, Xia E, Wang Y, Yang T, Zhang S, Wan X, Liu J, Niu Q, Zhu J, Bao S, Zhang Z. Dynamic DNA Methylation Regulates Season-Dependent Secondary Metabolism in the New Shoots of Tea Plants. JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY 2024; 72:3984-3997. [PMID: 38357888 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.3c08568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2024]
Abstract
Plant secondary metabolites are critical quality-conferring compositions of plant-derived beverages, medicines, and industrial materials. The accumulations of secondary metabolites are highly variable among seasons; however, the underlying regulatory mechanism remains unclear, especially in epigenetic regulation. Here, we used tea plants to explore an important epigenetic mark DNA methylation (5mC)-mediated regulation of plant secondary metabolism in different seasons. Multiple omics analyses were performed on spring and summer new shoots. The results showed that flavonoids and theanine metabolism dominated in the metabolic response to seasons in the new shoots. In summer new shoots, the genes encoding DNA methyltransferases and demethylases were up-regulated, and the global CG and CHG methylation reduced and CHH methylation increased. 5mC methylation in promoter and gene body regions influenced the seasonal response of gene expression; the amplitude of 5mC methylation was highly correlated with that of gene transcriptions. These differentially methylated genes included those encoding enzymes and transcription factors which play important roles in flavonoid and theanine metabolic pathways. The regulatory role of 5mC methylation was further verified by applying a DNA methylation inhibitor. These findings highlight that dynamic DNA methylation plays an important role in seasonal-dependent secondary metabolism and provide new insights for improving tea quality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengxue Han
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Shijia Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Biying Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Wei Tong
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Enhua Xia
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Yuanrong Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Tianyuan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Shupei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Xiaochun Wan
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Jianjun Liu
- College of Tea Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
| | - Qingfeng Niu
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Jianhua Zhu
- School of Life Sciences, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
| | - Shilai Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- School of Life Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhaoliang Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Tea Processing of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
- International Joint Research Laboratory of Tea Chemistry and Health Effects of Ministry of Education, Hefei, Anhui 230036, China
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Huang R, Wang Z, Wen W, Yao M, Liu H, Li F, Zhang S, Ni D, Chen L. Comprehensive dissection of variation and accumulation of free amino acids in tea accessions. HORTICULTURE RESEARCH 2024; 11:uhad263. [PMID: 38304331 PMCID: PMC10833077 DOI: 10.1093/hr/uhad263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
Free amino acids (FAAs) positively determine the tea quality, notably theanine (Thea), endowing umami taste of tea infusion, which is the profoundly prevalent research in albino tea genetic resources. Therefore, 339 tea accessions were collected to study FAAs level for deciphering its variation and accumulation mechanism. Interestingly, alanine (Ala) and Thea which had the highest diversity index (H') value among three varieties of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze were significantly higher than wild relatives (P < 0.05). The intraspecific arginine (Arg) and glutamine (Gln) contents in C. sinensis var. assamica were significantly lower than sinensis and pubilimba varieties. Moreover, the importance of interdependencies operating across FAAs and chlorophyll levels were highlighted via the cell ultrastructure, metabolomics, and transcriptome analysis. We then determined that the association between phytochrome interacting factor 1 (CsPIF1) identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and Thea content. Intriguingly, transient knock-down CsPIF1 expression increased Thea content in tea plant, and the function verification of CsPIF1 in Arabidopsis also indicated that CsPIF1 acts as a negative regulator of Thea content by mainly effecting the genes expression related to Thea biosynthesis, transport, and hydrolysis, especially glutamate synthase (CsGOGAT), which was validated to be associated with Thea content with a nonsynonymous SNP by Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP). We also investigated the interspecific and geographical distribution of this SNP. Taken together, these results help us to understand and clarify the variation and profile of major FAAs in tea germplasms and promote efficient utilization in tea genetic improvement and breeding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Huang
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
- College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Zhihua Wang
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
| | - Weiwei Wen
- College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Mingzhe Yao
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
| | - Haoran Liu
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
| | - Fang Li
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
| | - Shuran Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
| | - Dejiang Ni
- College of Horticulture and Forestry Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
| | - Liang Chen
- Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs; Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
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Zhang W, Ni K, Long L, Ruan J. Nitrogen transport and assimilation in tea plant ( Camellia sinensis): a review. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 14:1249202. [PMID: 37810380 PMCID: PMC10556680 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2023.1249202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen is one of the most important nutrients for tea plants, as it contributes significantly to tea yield and serves as the component of amino acids, which in turn affects the quality of tea produced. To achieve higher yields, excessive amounts of N fertilizers mainly in the form of urea have been applied in tea plantations where N fertilizer is prone to convert to nitrate and be lost by leaching in the acid soils. This usually results in elevated costs and environmental pollution. A comprehensive understanding of N metabolism in tea plants and the underlying mechanisms is necessary to identify the key regulators, characterize the functional phenotypes, and finally improve nitrogen use efficiency (NUE). Tea plants absorb and utilize ammonium as the preferred N source, thus a large amount of nitrate remains activated in soils. The improvement of nitrate utilization by tea plants is going to be an alternative aspect for NUE with great potentiality. In the process of N assimilation, nitrate is reduced to ammonium and subsequently derived to the GS-GOGAT pathway, involving the participation of nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NiR), glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH). Additionally, theanine, a unique amino acid responsible for umami taste, is biosynthesized by the catalysis of theanine synthetase (TS). In this review, we summarize what is known about the regulation and functioning of the enzymes and transporters implicated in N acquisition and metabolism in tea plants and the current methods for assessing NUE in this species. The challenges and prospects to expand our knowledge on N metabolism and related molecular mechanisms in tea plants which could be a model for woody perennial plant used for vegetative harvest are also discussed to provide the theoretical basis for future research to assess NUE traits more precisely among the vast germplasm resources, thus achieving NUE improvement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
- Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Ni
- Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
- Xihu National Agricultural Experimental Station for Soil Quality, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lizhi Long
- Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jianyun Ruan
- Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China
- Xihu National Agricultural Experimental Station for Soil Quality, Hangzhou, China
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An Y, Mi X, Xia X, Qiao D, Yu S, Zheng H, Jing T, Zhang F. Genome-wide identification of the PYL gene family of tea plants (Camellia sinensis) revealed its expression profiles under different stress and tissues. BMC Genomics 2023; 24:362. [PMID: 37380940 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-023-09464-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/17/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND PYL (Pyrabactin resistance 1-like) protein is a receptor of abscisic acid (ABA), which plays an important role in ABA signaling and influences plant growth and development and stress response. However, studies on PYL gene family in tea plants have not been reported. RESULTS In this study, we identified 20 PYL genes from the reference genome of tea plant ('Shuchazao'). Phylogeny analysis indicated that PYLs from tea and other plant species were clustered into seven groups. The promoter region of PYL genes contains a large number of cis-elements related to hormones and stresses. A large number of PYL genes responding to stress were found by analyzing the expression levels of abiotic stress and biotic stress transcriptome data. For example, CSS0047272.1 were up-regulated by drought stress, and CSS0027597.1 could respond to both anthracnose disease and geometrid feeding treatments. In addition, 10 PYL genes related to growth and development were verified by RT-qPCR and their tissue expression characteristics were revealed. CONCLUSIONS Our results provided a comprehensive characteristic of the PYL gene family in tea plants and provided an important clue for further exploring its functions in the growth and development, and resistance to stress of tea plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanlin An
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Moutai Institute, Luban Street, Renhuai, 564502, Guizhou, P.R. China
| | - Xiaozeng Mi
- Tea Research Institute, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1 Jinxin Community, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, China
| | - Xiaobo Xia
- College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Dahe Qiao
- Tea Research Institute, Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1 Jinxin Community, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, China
| | - Shirui Yu
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Moutai Institute, Luban Street, Renhuai, 564502, Guizhou, P.R. China
| | - Huayan Zheng
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Moutai Institute, Luban Street, Renhuai, 564502, Guizhou, P.R. China
| | - Tingting Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Biology and Utilization, Anhui Agricultural University, 130 Changjiang West Road, Hefei, China.
| | - Feng Zhang
- Department of Food Science and Engineering, Moutai Institute, Luban Street, Renhuai, 564502, Guizhou, P.R. China.
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