Uncovering reasons for differential accumulation of linalool in tea cultivars with different leaf area

Lanting Zeng; Yangyang Xiao; Xiaochen Zhou; Jizhong Yu; Guotai Jian; Jianlong Li; Jiaming Chen; Jinchi Tang; Ziyin Yang

doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128752

Uncovering reasons for differential accumulation of linalool in tea cultivars with different leaf area

Food Chem. 2021 May 30:345:128752. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128752. Epub 2020 Dec 1.

Authors

Lanting Zeng¹, Yangyang Xiao², Xiaochen Zhou², Jizhong Yu³, Guotai Jian², Jianlong Li⁴, Jiaming Chen², Jinchi Tang⁴, Ziyin Yang⁵

Affiliations

¹ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, 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.
² Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, 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.
³ Hangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 261 Zhusi Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou 310024, China.
⁴ 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.
⁵ Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, 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; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: zyyang@scbg.ac.cn.

PMID: 33302111
DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.128752

Abstract

It is generally proposed that tea cultivars with larger leaves contain more linalool, an important tea aroma contributor, than ones with smaller leaves. The objective of this study was to confirm the trait and explore the involved reason. Investigation on ten tea cultivars with different leaf areas demonstrated a significant positive correlation between linalool content and leaf area (R² = 0.739, p = 0.010). Analysis of metabolite and gene expression level showed that the transform ability of linalool into linalool oxides was the key factor. Feeding experiments that supplied tea leaves of different leaf areas with [²H₃]linalool under different light conditions revealed that the larger tea leaves receive more light and are less capable of transformation of linalool to linalool oxides, thus leading to linalool accumulation. This information will advance understanding of the variation of linalool content in tea varieties and will provide assistance in breeding and screening of high-linalool tea cultivars.

Keywords: Aroma; Camellia sinensis; Geranyl pyrophosphate (PubChem CID: 44134732).; Leaf area; Linalool; Linalool (PubChem CID: 6549); Linalool oxide; Tea; cis-linalool oxide (furaniod) (PubChem CID: 6428573); trans-linalool oxide (furaniod) (PubChem CID: 6431475).

MeSH terms

Acyclic Monoterpenes / metabolism*
Camellia sinensis / genetics
Camellia sinensis / metabolism*
Odorants / analysis
Plant Breeding
Plant Leaves / metabolism*

Substances

Acyclic Monoterpenes
linalool