title: 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.
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yun-Song
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Sha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Huan-Xiu
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Shen-Xiang
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Pin-Wu
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jin-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Sichuan Agricultural University , 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D000872:Anthocyanins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002110:Caffeine / Q000032:analysis; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D002392:Catechin / Q000032:analysis*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D059808:Polyphenols / Q000032:analysis; D013662:Tea
chemical_list: D000872:Anthocyanins; D005419:Flavonoids; D010936:Plant Extracts; D059808:Polyphenols; D013662:Tea; D002110:Caffeine; C066957:pelargonidin; C017154:cyanidin; D002392:Catechin; C017185:delphinidin
keywords: RNA-Seq; anthocyanin; catechin; gene expression; purple tea