GABA shunt contribution to flavonoid biosynthesis and metabolism in tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

Jieren Liao; Qiang Shen; Ruiyang Li; Yu Cao; Yue Li; Zhongwei Zou; Taiyu Ren; Fang Li; Wanping Fang; Xujun Zhu

doi:10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.06.042

GABA shunt contribution to flavonoid biosynthesis and metabolism in tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

Plant Physiol Biochem. 2021 Sep:166:849-856. doi: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.06.042. Epub 2021 Jul 2.

Authors

Jieren Liao¹, Qiang Shen², Ruiyang Li³, Yu Cao⁴, Yue Li⁵, Zhongwei Zou⁶, Taiyu Ren⁷, Fang Li⁸, Wanping Fang⁹, Xujun Zhu¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: zhuxujun@njau.edu.cn.
² Institute of Tea Sciences, Guizhou Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guiyang, 417100, China. Electronic address: 40909712@qq.com.
³ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: 14218115@njau.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: 2020104087@stu.njau.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Marine Life Sciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, PR China. Electronic address: yueli2016@outlook.com.
⁶ Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, 66 Dafoe Road, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada. Electronic address: Zhongwei.Zou@umanitoba.ca.
⁷ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: 2018104087@njau.edu.cn.
⁸ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: lifang@njau.edu.cn.
⁹ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: fangwp@njau.edu.cn.
¹⁰ College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, No.1 Weigang, Nanjing, 210095, Jiangsu, China.

PMID: 34229165
DOI: 10.1016/j.plaphy.2021.06.042

Abstract

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a signal molecule, is regarded as the intersection node of carbon and nitrogen metabolism, and its contributions to flavonoid metabolism in tea plant growth and development remain unclear. The correlation between the GABA shunt and flavonoid metabolism in tea plants is worth to explore. Secondary metabolites and their correlations with the taste of tea soup made from tea plants (Camellia sinensis) during different seasons were investigated. Related secondary metabolites and transcript profiles of genes encoding enzymes in the GABA shunt, flavonoid pathway and polyamine biosynthesis were measured throughout the tea plant growth seasons and after exogenous GABA applications. In addition, the abundance of differentially expressed proteins was quantified after treatments with or without exogenous GABA. The tea leaves showed the highest metabolite concentrations in spring season. CsGAD, CsGABAT, CsSPMS, CsODC, CsF3H and CsCHS were found to be important genes in the GABA and anthocyanin biosynthesis pathways. GABA and anthocyanin concentrations showed a positive correlation, to some extent, CsF3H and CsCHS played important roles in the GABA and anthocyanin biosynthesis.

Keywords: Anthocyanins; Development stage; Differentially expressed proteins; Flavonoid metabolism; GABA shunt.

MeSH terms

Camellia sinensis* / metabolism
Flavonoids
Gene Expression Regulation, Plant
Plant Leaves / metabolism
Plant Proteins / genetics
Plant Proteins / metabolism
Tea
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid

Substances

Flavonoids
Plant Proteins
Tea
gamma-Aminobutyric Acid