Abstract
Cold environment is the main constraint for tea plants (Camellia sinensis) distribution and tea farming. We identified two tea cultivars, called var. sinensis cv. Shuchazao (SCZ) with a high cold-tolerance and var. assamica cv. Yinghong9 (YH9) with low cold-tolerance. To better understand the response mechanism of tea plants under cold stress for improving breeding, we compared physiological and biochemical responses, and associated genes expression in response to 7-day and 14-day cold acclimation, followed by 7-day de-acclimation in these two tea cultivars. We found that the low EL50, low Fv/Fm, and high sucrose and raffinose accumulation are responsible for higher cold tolerance in SCZ comparing with YH9. We then measured the expression of 14 key homologous genes, known as involved in these responses in other plants, for each stages of treatment in both cultivars using RT-qPCR. Our results suggested that the increased expression of CsCBF1 and CsDHNs coupling with the accumulation of sucrose play key roles in conferring higher cold resistance in SCZ. Our findings have revealed key genes regulation responsible for cold resistance, which help to understand the cold-resistant mechanisms and guide breeding in tea plants.
Highlights
Low temperature is a major constraint on the growth, geographical distribution, and yield of some plants
Our results indicated that the increased expression of CsCBF1 and CsDHNs coupling with the accumulation of sucrose has played a role in conferring higher cold resistance in tea cultivar SCZ
Our results showed that SCZ leaves remain green while those of YH9 became reddish brown after all treatments (Fig 2A)
Summary
Low temperature is a major constraint on the growth, geographical distribution, and yield of some plants. Cold resistance of many plants[1,2,3,4], e.g. Eucalyptus nitens, Miscanthus, Medicago sativa and North American Rhododendron can be improved by prior exposure to a period of low, nonfreezing temperatures, which known as cold acclimation (CA) [5,6,7]. CA improves the tolerance of North American Rhododendron from -7 ̊C to -53 ̊C [4]. During CA, many physiological and biochemical processes are altered in plants. Those processes include the cytoskeleton rearrangement as an integrating system perceiving
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.