Open AccessStimulation in primary and secondary metabolism by elevated carbon dioxide alters green tea quality in Camellia sinensis L
Author(s) -
Xin Li,
Lan Zhang,
Golam Jalal Ahammed,
Zhixin Li,
JiPeng Wei,
Chen Shen,
Yan Peng,
Liping Zhang,
Han Wang
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/s41598-017-08465-1
Subject(s) - camellia sinensis , theanine , respiration , caffeine , sugar , theaceae , photosynthesis , chemistry , metabolism , carbon dioxide , carbon to nitrogen ratio , food science , carbohydrate metabolism , polyphenol , botany , horticulture , biochemistry , biology , nitrogen , green tea , antioxidant , organic chemistry , endocrinology
Rising CO 2 concentration, a driving force of climate change, is impacting global food security by affecting plant physiology. Nevertheless, the effects of elevated CO 2 on primary and secondary metabolism in tea plants ( Camellia sinensis L.) still remain largely unknown. Here we showed that exposure of tea plants to elevated CO 2 (800 µmol mol −1 for 24 d) remarkably improved both photosynthesis and respiration in tea leaves. Furthermore, elevated CO 2 increased the concentrations of soluble sugar, starch and total carbon, but decreased the total nitrogen concentration, resulting in an increased carbon to nitrogen ratio in tea leaves. Among the tea quality parameters, tea polyphenol, free amino acid and theanine concentrations increased, while the caffeine concentration decreased after CO 2 enrichment. The concentrations of individual catechins were altered differentially resulting in an increased total catechins concentration under elevated CO 2 condition. Real-time qPCR analysis revealed that the expression levels of catechins and theanine biosynthetic genes were up-regulated, while that of caffeine synthetic genes were down-regulated in tea leaves when grown under elevated CO 2 condition. These results unveiled profound effects of CO 2 enrichment on photosynthesis and respiration in tea plants, which eventually modulated the biosynthesis of key secondary metabolites towards production of a quality green tea.