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Effects of shading on lignin biosynthesis in the leaf of tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze)

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Abstract

Shading can effectively reduce photoinhibition and improve the quality of tea. Lignin is one of the most important secondary metabolites that play vital functions in plant growth and development. However, little is known about the relationship between shading and xylogenesis in tea plant. To investigate the effects of shading on lignin accumulation in tea plants, ‘Longjing 43’ was treated with no shading (S0), 40% (S1) and 80% (S2) shading treatments, respectively. The leaf area and lignin content of tea plant leaves decreased under shading treatments (especially S2). The anatomical characteristics showed that lignin is mainly distributed in the xylem of tea leaves. Promoter analysis indicated that the genes involved in lignin pathway contain several light recognition elements. The transcript abundances of 12 lignin-associated genes were altered under shading treatments. Correlation analysis indicated that most genes showed strong positive correlation with lignin content, and CsPAL, Cs4CL, CsF5H, and CsLAC exhibited significant positively correlation under 40% and 80% shading treatments. The results showed that shading may have an important effect on lignin accumulation in tea leaves. This work will potentially helpful to understand the regulation mechanism of lignin pathway under shading treatment, and provide reference for reducing lignin content and improving tea quality through shading treatment in field operation.

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Acknowledgements

The research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31870681), Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions Project (PAPD).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tea Science Research Institute, College of Horticulture, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China

    Rui-Min Teng, Yong-Xin Wang, Hui Li, Shi-Jia Lin, Hao Liu & Jing Zhuang

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  1. Rui-Min Teng
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  2. Yong-Xin Wang
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  4. Shi-Jia Lin
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Contributions

ZJ, WYX and TRM designed this research. TRM, WYX, LH, LSJ, and LH performed the experiments. WYX conducted the data analysis. TRM and WYX wrote the manuscript. ZJ and TRM revised the paper. All the authors contributed to improving the paper and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jing Zhuang.

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Teng, RM., Wang, YX., Li, H. et al. Effects of shading on lignin biosynthesis in the leaf of tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze). Mol Genet Genomics 296, 165–177 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00438-020-01737-y

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