National Center for Tea Plant Improvement, 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.
Key Laboratory of Tea Science in Universities of Fujian Province, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Jun 13;24(12):10059. doi: 10.3390/ijms241210059.
Cold stress is a major environmental factor that adversely affects the growth and productivity of tea plants. Upon cold stress, tea plants accumulate multiple metabolites, including ascorbic acid. However, the role of ascorbic acid in the cold stress response of tea plants is not well understood. Here, we report that exogenous ascorbic acid treatment improves the cold tolerance of tea plants. We show that ascorbic acid treatment reduces lipid peroxidation and increases the Fv/Fm of tea plants under cold stress. Transcriptome analysis indicates that ascorbic acid treatment down-regulates the expression of ascorbic acid biosynthesis genes and ROS-scavenging-related genes, while modulating the expression of cell wall remodeling-related genes. Our findings suggest that ascorbic acid treatment negatively regulates the ROS-scavenging system to maintain ROS homeostasis in the cold stress response of tea plants and that ascorbic acid's protective role in minimizing the harmful effects of cold stress on tea plants may occur through cell wall remodeling. Ascorbic acid can be used as a potential agent to increase the cold tolerance of tea plants with no pesticide residual concerns in tea.
冷胁迫是影响茶树生长和生产力的主要环境因素之一。在冷胁迫下，茶树会积累多种代谢物，包括抗坏血酸。然而，抗坏血酸在茶树冷胁迫响应中的作用尚不清楚。本研究表明，外源抗坏血酸处理可提高茶树的耐寒性。结果显示，抗坏血酸处理可降低冷胁迫下茶树的脂质过氧化作用，提高 Fv/Fm。转录组分析表明，抗坏血酸处理下调了抗坏血酸生物合成基因和 ROS 清除相关基因的表达，同时调节了细胞壁重塑相关基因的表达。这些发现表明，抗坏血酸处理通过负调控 ROS 清除系统，在茶树冷胁迫响应中维持 ROS 稳态，而抗坏血酸通过细胞壁重塑来减轻冷胁迫对茶树的有害影响可能发挥作用。抗坏血酸可作为一种潜在的药剂，在不产生农药残留的情况下提高茶树的耐寒性。
