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Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding
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Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding

A special issue of Plants (ISSN 2223-7747). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Physiology and Crop Production".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2025) | Viewed by 9794

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Xiaoling Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
Interests: tea tree; herbivores; tea tree resistance; tea tree breeding; tea tree protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xin Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Tea Quality and Safety Control, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
Interests: tea plants; flavonoid; stress physiology; plant hormones; secondary metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Tea is one of the most globally popular beverages for both consumption and research. Abundant tea germplasm resources provide diverse parent materials for tea breeding. With the publication of high-quality reference sequences of tea plants and re-sequencing data from different tea accessions, we have expanded upon our understanding of tea plant genetics and breeding. Until now, several advanced genomics and phenomics technologies have been utilized to meet the demands of health-conscious people for the improved quality and rapid production of tea and address the challenges of climate change, nutrient deficiency in soil, outbreaks of tea plant diseases and herbivorous pests, etc. This Special Issue of Plants welcomes original research and review articles that present recent advances in the field, with a focus on tea germplasm improvement and resistance breeding.

Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Sun
Dr. Xin Li
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Plants is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • tea germplasm improvement
  • resistance breeding
  • stress physiology
  • climate change
  • plant–environment interaction
  • plant–pathogen interaction

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Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 16122 KiB  
Article
Integrated Physiological, Transcriptomic, and Metabolomic Analysis Reveals Mechanism Underlying the Serendipita indica-Enhanced Drought Tolerance in Tea Plants
by Gaojian Shen, Hongli Cao, Qin Zeng, Xiaoyu Guo, Huixin Shao, Huiyi Wang, Liyong Luo, Chuan Yue and Liang Zeng
Plants 2025, 14(7), 989; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14070989 - 21 Mar 2025
Viewed by 648
Abstract
Drought stress significantly impairs the output of tea plants and the quality of tea products. Although Serendipita indica has demonstrated the ability to enhance drought tolerance in host plants, its impact on tea plants (Camellia sinensis) experiencing drought stress is unknown. [...] Read more.
Drought stress significantly impairs the output of tea plants and the quality of tea products. Although Serendipita indica has demonstrated the ability to enhance drought tolerance in host plants, its impact on tea plants (Camellia sinensis) experiencing drought stress is unknown. This study assessed the response of tea plants by inoculating S. indica under drought conditions. Phenotypic and physiological analyses demonstrated that S. indica mitigated drought damage in tea plants by regulating osmotic equilibrium and antioxidant enzyme activity. Metabolome analysis showed that S. indica promoted the accumulation of flavonoid metabolites, including naringin, (-)-epiafzelechin, naringenin chalcone, and dihydromyricetin, while inhibiting the content of amino acids and derivatives, such as homoarginine, L-arginine, N6-acetyl-L-lysine, and N-palmitoylglycine, during water deficit. The expression patterns of S. indica-stimulated genes were investigated using transcriptome analysis. S. indica-induced drought-responsive genes involved in osmotic regulation, antioxidant protection, transcription factors, and signaling were identified and recognized as possibly significant in S. indica-mediated drought tolerance in tea plants. Particularly, the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway was identified from the metabolomic and transcriptomic analysis using Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis. Moreover, flavonoid biosynthesis-related genes were identified. S. indica-inoculation significantly upregulated the expression of cinnamate 4-hydroxylase (C4H), chalcone synthase (CHS), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), anthocyanidin reductase (ANR), and leucoanthocyanidin reductase (LAR) genes compared to uninoculated plants subjected to water stress. Consequently, we concluded that S. indica inoculation primarily alleviates drought stress in tea plants by modulating the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. These results will provide insights into the mechanisms of S. indica-enhanced drought tolerance in tea plants and establish a solid foundation for its application as a microbial agent in the management of drought in tea plants cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding)
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12 pages, 1448 KiB  
Article
Elevated Ozone Reduces the Quality of Tea Leaves but May Improve the Resistance of Tea Plants
by Nuo Wang, Yuxi Wang, Xinyang Zhang, Yiqi Wu, Lan Zhang, Guanhua Liu, Jianyu Fu, Xin Li, Dan Mu and Zhengzhen Li
Plants 2024, 13(8), 1108; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13081108 - 16 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1652
Abstract
Tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution can affect plant nutritional quality and secondary metabolites by altering plant biochemistry and physiology, which may lead to unpredictable effects on crop quality and resistance to pests and diseases. Here, we investigated the effects of O3 [...] Read more.
Tropospheric ozone (O3) pollution can affect plant nutritional quality and secondary metabolites by altering plant biochemistry and physiology, which may lead to unpredictable effects on crop quality and resistance to pests and diseases. Here, we investigated the effects of O3 (ambient air, Am; ambient air +80 ppb of O3, EO3) on the quality compounds and chemical defenses of a widely cultivated tea variety in China (Camellia sinensis cv. ‘Baiye 1 Hao’) using open-top chamber (OTC). We found that elevated O3 increased the ratio of total polyphenols to free amino acids while decreasing the value of the catechin quality index, indicating a reduction in leaf quality for green tea. Specifically, elevated O3 reduced concentrations of amino acids and caffeine but shows no impact on the concentrations of total polyphenols in tea leaves. Within individual catechins, elevated O3 increased the concentrations of ester catechins but not non-ester catechins, resulting in a slight increase in total catechins. Moreover, elevated O3 increased the emission of biogenic volatile organic compounds involved in plant defense against herbivores and parasites, including green leaf volatiles, aromatics, and terpenes. Additionally, concentrations of main chemical defenses, represented as condensed tannins and lignin, in tea leaves also increased in response to elevated O3. In conclusion, our results suggest that elevated ground-level O3 may reduce the quality of tea leaves but could potentially enhance the resistance of tea plants to biotic stresses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding)
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14 pages, 4148 KiB  
Article
The Laccase Family Gene CsLAC37 Participates in Resistance to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Infection in Tea Plants
by Dangqiang Li, Hongxiu Zhang, Qianqian Zhou, Yongning Tao, Shuangshuang Wang, Pengke Wang, Aoni Wang, Chaoling Wei and Shengrui Liu
Plants 2024, 13(6), 884; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13060884 - 19 Mar 2024
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1909
Abstract
Fungal attacks have become a major obstacle in tea plantations. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is one of the most devastating fungal pathogens in tea plantations that can severely affect tea yield and quality. However, the molecular mechanism of resistance genes involved in anthracnose is still [...] Read more.
Fungal attacks have become a major obstacle in tea plantations. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is one of the most devastating fungal pathogens in tea plantations that can severely affect tea yield and quality. However, the molecular mechanism of resistance genes involved in anthracnose is still largely unknown in tea plants. Here, we found that the laccase gene CsLAC37 was involved in the response to fungal infection based on a transcriptome analysis. The full-length CDS of CsLAC37 was cloned, and its protein sequence had the closest relationship with the Arabidopsis AtLAC15 protein compared to other AtLACs. Tissue-specific expression analysis showed that CsLAC37 had higher expression levels in mature leaves and stems than in the other tissues. Subcellular localization showed that the CsLAC37 protein was predominantly localized in the cell membrane. The expression levels of CsLAC37 were upregulated at different time points under cold, salt, SA, and ABA treatments. qRT-PCR confirmed that CsLAC37 responded to both Pestalotiopsis-like species and C. gloeosporioides infections. Functional validation showed that the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content increased significantly, and POD activity decreased in leaves after antisense oligonucleotide (AsODN) treatment compared to the controls. The results demonstrated that CsLAC37 may play an important role in resistance to anthracnose, and the findings provide a theoretical foundation for molecular breeding of tea varieties with resistance to fungal diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding)
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20 pages, 5478 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Genomic Analysis of Trihelix Family in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis) and Their Putative Roles in Osmotic Stress
by Zhuoliang Lang, Zelong Xu, Linying Li, Yuqing He, Yao Zhao, Chi Zhang, Gaojie Hong and Xueying Zhang
Plants 2024, 13(1), 70; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13010070 - 25 Dec 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1769
Abstract
In plants, Trihelix transcription factors are responsible for regulating growth, development, and reaction to various abiotic stresses. However, their functions in tea plants are not yet fully understood. This study identified a total of 40 complete Trihelix genes in the tea plant genome, [...] Read more.
In plants, Trihelix transcription factors are responsible for regulating growth, development, and reaction to various abiotic stresses. However, their functions in tea plants are not yet fully understood. This study identified a total of 40 complete Trihelix genes in the tea plant genome, which are classified into five clades: GT-1 (5 genes), GT-2 (8 genes), GTγ (2 genes), SH4 (7 genes), and SIP1 (18 genes). The same subfamily exhibits similar gene structures and functional domains. Chromosomal mapping analysis revealed that chromosome 2 has the most significant number of trihelix family members. Promoter analysis identified cis-acting elements in C. sinensis trihelix (CsTH), indicating their potential to respond to various phytohormones and stresses. The expression analysis of eight representative CsTH genes from four subfamilies showed that all CsTHs were expressed in more tissues, and three CsTHs were significantly induced under ABA, NaCl, and drought stress. This suggests that CsTHs plays an essential role in tea plant growth, development, and response to osmotic stress. Furthermore, yeast strains have preliminarily proven that CsTH28, CsTH36, and CsTH39 can confer salt and drought tolerance. Our study provides insights into the phylogenetic relationships and functions of the trihelix transcription factors in tea plants. It also presents new candidate genes for stress-tolerance breeding. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding)
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Review

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13 pages, 2807 KiB  
Review
Recent Advances in the Specialized Metabolites Mediating Resistance to Insect Pests and Pathogens in Tea Plants (Camellia sinensis)
by Jin Zhang, Yongchen Yu, Xiaona Qian, Xin Zhang, Xiwang Li and Xiaoling Sun
Plants 2024, 13(2), 323; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13020323 - 22 Jan 2024
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 2918
Abstract
Tea is the second most popular nonalcoholic beverage consumed in the world, made from the buds and young leaves of the tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Tea trees, perennial evergreen plants, contain abundant specialized metabolites and suffer from severe herbivore and pathogen [...] Read more.
Tea is the second most popular nonalcoholic beverage consumed in the world, made from the buds and young leaves of the tea plants (Camellia sinensis). Tea trees, perennial evergreen plants, contain abundant specialized metabolites and suffer from severe herbivore and pathogen attacks in nature. Thus, there has been considerable attention focusing on investigating the precise function of specialized metabolites in plant resistance against pests and diseases. In this review, firstly, the responses of specialized metabolites (including phytohormones, volatile compounds, flavonoids, caffeine, and L-theanine) to different attacks by pests and pathogens were compared. Secondly, research progress on the defensive functions and action modes of specialized metabolites, along with the intrinsic molecular mechanisms in tea plants, was summarized. Finally, the critical questions about specialized metabolites were proposed for better future research on phytohormone-dependent biosynthesis, the characteristics of defense responses to different stresses, and molecular mechanisms. This review provides an update on the biological functions of specialized metabolites of tea plants in defense against two pests and two pathogens. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Tea Germplasm Improvement and Resistance Breeding)
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