Effect of fluoride treatment on gene expression in tea plant (Camellia sinensis)

Sci Rep. 2017 Aug 29;7(1):9847. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-08587-6.

Abstract

Tea plant is a typical fluorine (F) accumulator. F concentration in mature tea leaves is several hundred times higher than that in normal field crops. Long-term consumption of teas with high level F will increase the risks of dental and skeletal fluorosis. The mechanism of F accumulation in tea stands unclear. RNA-Seq and digital gene expression (DGE) techniques were used to investigate the effect of F on the differential expressions of transcriptome in tea plant. The results showed that F content in mature tea leaves was increased with increase in F concentration of cultural solution and duration of F treatment time. Based on comparison with data of GO, COG, KEGG and Nr databases, 144 differentially expressed unigenes with definite annotation were identified. Real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate the effect of F on expression of 5 unigenes screened from the 144 unigenes. F treatment induced the expression of defense genes such as receptor-like kinases (RLKs) and U-box domain-containing protein. Based on the present study, F uptake is considered to be related to calcium-transporting ATPase, especially autoinhibited Ca2+ ATPase (ACAs) which was activated by the RLKs and worked as a carrier in uptake of F by tea plant.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Camellia sinensis / genetics*
  • Camellia sinensis / metabolism
  • Computational Biology / methods
  • Fluorides / pharmacology*
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Plant / drug effects*
  • Gene Ontology
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Plant Leaves / genetics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Tea / genetics
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Tea
  • Fluorides