Zhang Jin, Yu Yongchen, Qian Xiaona, Zhang Xin, Li Xiwang, Sun Xiaoling
Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China.
Plants (Basel). 2024 Jan 22;13(2):323. doi: 10.3390/plants13020323.
Tea is the second most popular nonalcoholic beverage consumed in the world, made from the buds and young leaves of the tea plants (). 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.
茶是世界上第二受欢迎的非酒精饮料，由茶树的芽和嫩叶制成。茶树是多年生常绿植物，含有丰富的特殊代谢产物，在自然界中遭受严重的食草动物和病原体攻击。因此，人们相当关注研究特殊代谢产物在植物抗病虫害中的精确功能。在本综述中，首先比较了特殊代谢产物（包括植物激素、挥发性化合物、黄酮类化合物、咖啡因和L-茶氨酸）对害虫和病原体不同攻击的反应。其次，总结了特殊代谢产物的防御功能和作用模式以及茶树内部分子机制的研究进展。最后，针对植物激素依赖性生物合成、对不同胁迫的防御反应特征和分子机制等未来更好的研究，提出了关于特殊代谢产物的关键问题。本综述提供了茶树特殊代谢产物在抵御两种害虫和两种病原体方面生物学功能的最新情况。
