High-Throughput Transcriptomic Analysis of Circadian Rhythm of Chlorophyll Metabolism under Different Photoperiods in Tea Plants

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences 2024-08, Vol.25 (17), p.9270
• Main Authors: Hu, Zhi-Hang, Sun, Meng-Zhen, Yang, Kai-Xin, Zhang, Nan, Chen, Chen, Xiong, Jia-Wen, Yang, Ni, Chen, Yi, Liu, Hui, Li, Xing-Hui, Chen, Xuan, Xiong, Ai-Sheng, Zhuang, Jing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Annotations; Biosynthesis; Camellia sinensis; Camellia sinensis - genetics; Camellia sinensis - metabolism; Carotenoids; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll - metabolism; Circadian rhythm; Circadian Rhythm - genetics; expression patterns; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genetic engineering; Genomics; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; high-throughput transcriptomics; Leaves; Light; Metabolism; Photoperiod; photoperiodic regulation; Photosynthesis; Physiology; Plant Proteins - genetics; Plant Proteins - metabolism; Transcriptome
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms25179270

Tea plants are a perennial crop with significant economic value. Chlorophyll, a key factor in tea leaf color and photosynthetic efficiency, is affected by the photoperiod and usually exhibits diurnal and seasonal variations. In this study, high-throughput transcriptomic analysis was used to study the chlorophyll metabolism, under different photoperiods, of tea plants. We conducted a time-series sampling under a skeleton photoperiod (6L6D) and continuous light conditions (24 L), measuring the chlorophyll and carotenoid content at a photoperiod interval of 3 h (24 h). Transcriptome sequencing was performed at six time points across two light cycles, followed by bioinformatics analysis to identify and annotate the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) involved in chlorophyll metabolism. The results revealed distinct expression patterns of key genes in the chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway. The expression levels of ( ), ( ), ( ), and ( ), encoding enzymes in chlorophyll synthesis, were increased under continuous light conditions (24 L). At 6L6D, the expression levels of , and showed an oscillating trend. The expression levels of and showed the same trend, they both decreased under light treatment and increased under dark treatment. Our findings provide potential insights into the molecular basis of how photoperiods regulate chlorophyll metabolism in tea plants.