title: Differential Metabolic Profiles during the Albescent Stages of 'Anji Baicha' (Camellia sinensis).
abstract: 'Anji Baicha' is an albino tea cultivar with white shoots at low air temperature and green shoots at high air temperature in early spring. The metabolite contents in the shoots dynamically vary with the color changes and with shoot development. To investigate the metabolomic variation during the albescent and re-greening stages, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry combined with multivariate analysis were applied to analyze the metabolite profiles in the different color stages during the development of 'Anji Baicha' leaves. The metabolite profiles of three albescent stages, including the yellow-green stage, the early albescent stage, and the late albescent stage, as well as the re-greening stage were distinguished using principal component analysis, revealing that the distinct developmental stages were likely responsible for the observed metabolic differences. Furthermore, a group classification and pairwise discrimination was revealed among the three albescent stages and re-greening stage by partial least squares discriminant analysis. A total of 65 differential metabolites were identified with a variable influence on projection greater than 1. The main differential metabolic pathways of the albescent stages compared with the re-greening stage included carbon fixation in photosynthetic organisms and the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis pathways. Compared with the re-greening stage, the carbohydrate and amino acid metabolic pathways were disturbed during the albescent stages. During the albescent stages, the sugar (fructofuranose), sugar derivative (glucose-1-phosphate) and epicatechin concentrations decreased, whereas the amino acid (mainly glycine, serine, tryptophan, citrulline, glutamine, proline, and valine) concentrations increased. These results reveal the changes in metabolic profiling that occur during the color changes associated with the development of the albino tea plant leaves.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Fang
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ming-Zhe
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chun-Lei
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jian-Qiang
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ji-Qiang
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture, Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005632:Fructose / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D055432:Metabolomics; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D002734:Chlorophyll; D005632:Fructose