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Diversity2025, 17(10), 705;https://doi.org/10.3390/d17100705 
(registering DOI)
by
  • Ming-Hui Yan1,2,*,†,
  • Yan-Rong Du3,† and
  • Wei Tong4
  • et al.

Reviewer 1: Larisa I. Fedoreyeva Reviewer 2: Anonymous Reviewer 3: Anonymous

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Tea production, including the development of elite, stress-resistant, and distinctively flavorful tea varieties, is an important and pressing issue. The elite Xinyang10 variety, bred from a C. sinensis cv population, is distinguished by its cold tolerance. The manuscript presented a comparison of the mitogenomes of 11 tea varieties. However, other than leaf size, no data on the cold tolerance of all varieties were provided. It would also be interesting to present comparative data on the flavor qualities of the 11 tea varieties, as mitochondrial-related redox processes can significantly influence aromatic compounds and their composition.
While the authors have certainly done a great deal of interesting work in defining the mitogenome assembly, it remains to be proven that the nad1, sdh3, and ccmFC genes are involved in cold stress adaptation.
Some comments on the abbreviations are in order – Thea and Sect.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The ms describe the complete mito genome and its characterization in Camellia sinensis. The data presented here seem to be fine, although it does not seem to contain apparently novel evidence compared to other reports of mito genomes. I would think that the ms could be acceptable for publication in Diversity after the correction of following points.

 

 

L152-153: The accession nos. MT773374 and MT773375 are wrong (they are the chloroplast genomes). PP770440 and PP212896 are correct, respectively.

 

L154: The accession nos. PQ763485-PQ763490 are wrong. PQ763484-PQ763490 are correct.

 

Table 1: The accession nos. PV340651-PV340651 are wrong. PV340641-PV340651 are correct.

 

Table 1: A mito genome under accession nos. PV744423-PV744434 has also been deposited in the database. The authors should explain why it was excluded from the analysis.

 

 

Fig. 7 and Table S5: XY10_vs_ZYQ7 is wrong. XY10_vs_ZYQ is correct.

 

Fig. 7: By comparison of the sdh3 sequences listed in Fig. 7, I realized that sdh3 of AMH and AMK were identical, but different colors were given to them (pale yellow and green colors were given to sdh3 of AMH and AMK, respectively) in Fig. 7. I am not sure the reason of such different colors because the mito genome of Xinyang10 (this study, accession nos. PX398764-PX398765) has not yet been actually accessible in the database. I would recommend that the authors should check the data in Fig. 7.

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors
  1. The aim of the study is to assemble and characterize the mitogenome of Camellia sinensis Xinyang10, and to investigate the potential variations that may be associated with cultivar differentiation, geographical adaptation, or agronomic traits.
  2. The aim of the research is well-placed, in fact, while several researchers have made considerable progress about the study of the tea plant's genome, the mitogenome of sinensis cv. Xinyang 10 is today poorly characterized.
  3. The adopted methodological approach is coherent with the aims.
  4. Results and discussions provide Camellia sinensis valuable genomic resources and, generally, show the utility of the mitogenome in understanding the evolutionary history of tea plants.
  5. The work is well structured and discussed.
  6. Figures are clear.

 

However, in order to improve the quality of manuscript I suggest the following revisions:

  • In the Introduction section,
    • The study about the mitochondrial genome study of Camellia oleifera and the role of the tandem conserved gene cluster of nad5–nads in this plant evolution, available at https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1396635/full , could be mentioned
  • The ‘Conclusion’ section is absent
    • Please include it in the manuscript, underlying the value added of the work compared to previous research in the field, and the impact on innovative breeding programs

 

A careful reading of the all manuscript is strongly recommended.

For instance, in the reference

Chen, Z.; Zhou, W.; Wang, Z.; Chen, Z.; You, X.; Gong, Y. Analysis of the Mitochondrial Genome of the Camellia sinensis 762 cv. 'Zhuyeqi': Multichromosomal Structure, RNA Editing Sites, and Evolutionary Characterization. Front. Plant Sci. 2023, 763 16, 1644130.

the year is 2025 and not 2023.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf