Inheritance and quantitative trait loci analyses of the anthocyanins and catechins of Camellia sinensis cultivar ‘Ziyan’ with dark‐purple leaves

Abstract

Owing to the potential health benefits, anthocyanin-rich teas (Camellia sinensis) have attracted interest over the past decade. Previously, we developed the cultivar 'Ziyan,' which has dark-purple leaves because of the accumulation of a high amount of anthocyanins. In this study, we performed a genetic analysis of this anthocyanin-rich tea cultivar and 176 of its naturally pollinated offspring. For two consecutive years, we quantified the anthocyanins and catechins of 'Ziyan' and the offspring population. While >60% of the offspring accumulated less than half of the amount of anthocyanins of 'Ziyan,' 17 (2018) and 15 (2019) individuals exceeded 'Ziyan' in anthocyanin content. A negative correlation between anthocyanin and total catechin content (r = −0.59, P < 0.001) was observed. The population was genotyped with 131 SSR markers spanning all linkage groups of the C. sinensis genome. Kruskal-Wallis tests identified 10 markers significantly associated with anthocyanins, catechins and their ratios in both years. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analyses using the interval mapping method detected 13 QTLs, suggesting the dark-purple trait of 'Ziyan' is because of the pyramiding of anthocyanin-promoting alleles on at least five linkage groups. Two genetic loci reversely related to anthocyanin and total catechin contents were identified. This study provides valuable information for genetic improvement of purple tea cultivars and for finemapping related genes. effects against cancer, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular, and other diseases (Rameshrad et al. 2017, Yi et al. 2019). These health effects are often associated with the rich flavonoid content in tea, especially catechins (flavan-3-ols), which account for 10-23% of the dry weight of tea (Jin et al. 2014).

Effects of a weak supply of light at night on the growth and quality components of tea plants

“…We speculate that the total illumination radiation, instead of light period, is important for anthocyanin accumulation. The increase in catechins may also lead to the decrease in anthocyanins as they share the upstream biosynthetic pathway (Tan et al, 2020). However, we failed to find previous research that indicated that applying extra weak light during the night decreased the content of anthocyanins.…”

“…The signal was detected by using an Agilent VWD at 520 nm. The contents of catechins and caffeine were determined by HPLC (Agilent 1260), as described by Tan et al (2020). A Phenomenex (Torrance, CA, USA) phenyl-hexyl column was used.…”

The glycoside hydrolase gene family profile and microbial function of Debaryomyces hansenii Y4 during South-road dark tea fermentation

“…According to the method described by China National Standard GB/T8305-2013, GB/T8313-2008 and GB/T8314-2013, water extract content (WE), tea polyphenols (TPs) and amino acid (AA) in tea samples were quantified, respectively. Furthermore, the levels of catechin monomers and caffeine (Caf) were determined following GB/T 8313–2018 with some modifications by Tan et al (2021) , while water-soluble sugar (SS) were detected by the method of Zou (2014) . The contents of theaflavin (TF), thearubigin (TR) and theabrownin (TB) were, respectively, measured using spectrophotometric methods ( Huang, 1997 ).…”

Multi-Omics Research Accelerates the Clarification of the Formation Mechanism and the Influence of Leaf Color Variation in Tea (Camellia sinensis) Plants

“…Tea varieties possessing purple leaves represent another emerging popular tea type [19]. Compared to traditional green-leaf cultivars, purple-leaf tea is rich in purple-colored bioactive anthocyanins [20][21][22]. Anthocyanins are polyphenols and possess powerful antioxidative and anti-inflammatory capacities [23].…”