Characterizing the cultivar-specific mechanisms underlying the accumulation of quality-related metabolites in specific Chinese tea (Camellia sinensis) germplasms to diversify tea products.

Jianlong Li, Yangyang Xiao, Xiaochen Zhou, Yinyin Liao, Shuhua Wu, Jiaming Chen, Jiajia Qian, Ying Yan, Jinchi Tang, Lanting Zeng

Journal: Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.) 2022;161():111824

PMID: 36192959

Full Text on Elsevier Science View on PubMed

Abstract

The diverse tea (Camellia sinensis) germplasms in China include those that specifically accumulate metabolites, such as anthocyanin, catechin, amino acid, caffeine, aroma compound, and chlorophyll. There is interest in the derived products because of special flavor quality or high efficacy activity. This review describes the characteristics of specific tea germplasms and associated regulatory mechanisms. High expression levels of the corresponding biosynthetic genes lead to the substantial accumulation of anthocyanins. The increased metabolic flux from anthocyanins to galloylated catechins is responsible for the occurrence of high-catechin germplasms. The precursor ethylamine determines the differential abundance of l-theanine between tea and other plants. The high amino acid contents in albino germplasms are the result of decreased l-theanine hydrolysis. In low-caffeine tea germplasms, caffeine synthase genes are minimally expressed or mutated. High-aroma germplasms are associated with an increase in the precursors or strong stress-induced responses. Enhanced chloroplast and chlorophyll synthesis is a hallmark of the high-chlorophyll germplasms. Overall, biosynthetic metabolism might have contributed to the occurrence of specific tea germplasms. Furthermore, elucidation the deeper molecular mechanisms in specific tea germplasms are significant and urgent. The information will enhance our understanding of the metabolic activities in tea plants, with implications for tea breeding.

Address: Tea Research Institute, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Tea Plant Resources Innovation and Utilization, No. 6 Dafeng Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510640, China.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China.; Zhanjiang Minghe Tea Ind. Co., Ltd. & Doctor Station of Guangdong Province, No. 18 Guangtian Road, Chikan District, Zhanjiang 524043, China.; Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China; Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 723 Xingke Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510650, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111824

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MeSH Terms: Anthocyanins, Caffeine, Camellia sinensis, Catechin, Chlorophyll, Ethylamines, Plant Breeding, Plant Leaves, Tea