The Dark-Purple Tea Cultivar ‘Ziyan’ Accumulates a Large Amount of Delphinidin-Related Anthocyanins

Abstract

Recently, we developed a novel tea cultivar 'Ziyan' with distinct purple leaves. There was a significant correlation between leaf color and anthocyanin pigment content in the leaves. A distinct allocation of metabolic flow for B-ring trihydroxylated anthocyanins and catechins in 'Ziyan' was observed. Delphinidin, cyanidin, and pelargonidin (88.15 mg/100 g FW in total) but no other anthocyanin pigments were detected in 'Ziyan', and delphinidin (70.76 mg/100 g FW) was particularly predominant. An analysis of the catechin content in 'Ziyan' and eight other cultivars indicated that 'Ziyan' exhibits a preference for synthesizing B-ring trihydroxylated catechins (with a proportion of 74%). The full-length cDNA sequences of flavonoid pathway genes were isolated by RNA-Seq coupled with conventional TA cloning, and their expression patterns were characterized. Purple-leaved cultivars had lower amounts of total catechins, polyphenols, and water extract than ordinary non-anthocyanin cultivars but similar levels of caffeine. Because dark-purple-leaved Camellia species are rare in nature, this study provides new insights into the interplay between the accumulations of anthocyanins and other bioactive components in tea leaves.

Gene expression analysis of bud and leaf color in tea

“…1B). These results were consistent with previous findings and suggest that the color difference among tea samples were mainly correlated with anthocyanin accumulation (Saito et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Lai et al, 2016).…”

“…Among them, the most representative pathway was phenylpropanoid biosynthesis (Ko00940, 14 unigenes, Pvalue ¼ 1.94$e À4 ), followed by flavonoid biosynthesis (Ko00941, 6 unigenes, P-value ¼ 5.2 e À4 ). As anthocyanin biosynthesis is a branch of the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis, the KEGG results suggest that anthocyanin biosynthesis plays a key role in purple buds and leaves formation in C. sinensis, which was consistent with previous biochemical studies (Saito et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Lai et al, 2016). Furthermore, photosynthesis and carotenoid biosynthesis were also largely affected according KEGG analysis.…”

“…Since the beginning of this century, there has been a growing interest in purple shoot tea, such as Benibana-cha, Sunrouge tea, Zijuan tea and Ziyan tea (Terahara et al, 2001;Saito et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Lai et al, 2016). These tea cultivars having purple colored buds and leaves are closely associated with anthocyanin accumulations (Saito et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Lai et al, 2016).…”

“…These tea cultivars having purple colored buds and leaves are closely associated with anthocyanin accumulations (Saito et al, 2011;Jiang et al, 2013;Lai et al, 2016). Meanwhile, purple shoot teas were reported to have more pharmacological benefits as compared with ordinary tea.…”

A coupled role for CsMYB75 and CsGSTF1 in anthocyanin hyperaccumulation in purple tea

“…Following intensive plant‐selection programs, four anthocyanin‐rich tea cultivars have been identified recently: namely the Benibana‐cha, Sunrouge, Ziyan and Zijuan teas (Terahara et al ., ; Saito et al ., ; Jiang et al ., ; Lai et al ., ). Zijuan (ZJ) tea, with its pigmented buds, leaves and stems, is one of the best‐studied purple tea cultivars and was first identified as a mutant of the assamica variety in the Yunnan province of China (Jiang et al ., ).…”