title: Metabolic Changes of Caffeine in Tea Plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) as Defense Response to Colletotrichum fructicola.
abstract: Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most economically valuable crops in the world. Anthracnose can affect the growth of leaves and cause serious yield losses of tea. Tea plants are rich in secondary metabolites; however, their roles in resistance to anthracnose are unclear. Herein we compared the contents of total phenolics, catechins, and caffeine in two cultivars with different resistances to anthracnose during Colletotrichum fructicola infection. (-)-Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), (+)-catechin (C), caffeine, and critical regulatory genes were induced in C. fructicola-resistant tissues. In vitro antifungal tests showed that caffeine more strongly inhibited mycelial growth than tea polyphenols and catechins. Both electron microscopy and bioactivity analysis results showed that caffeine can affect mycelial cell walls and plasma membranes. Through promoter sequences analysis, a number of stress response-related cis-acting elements were identified in S-adenosylmethionine synthetase and tea caffeine synthase. These results demonstrated that (-)-EGCG, (+)-C, and caffeine may be involved in the resistance of tea plants to anthracnose.
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University , Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China.|Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yu-Chun
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University , Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China.|Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wen-Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.affiliation: Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Na-Na
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin-Yuan
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University , Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xin-Chao
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University , Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China.|Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences/National Center for Tea Improvement/Key Laboratory of Tea Biology and Resources Utilization, Ministry of Agriculture , Hangzhou 310008, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Ya-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D002110:Caffeine / Q000378:metabolism*; D028241:Camellia sinensis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000382:microbiology; D002392:Catechin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D020231:Colletotrichum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000378:metabolism*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts; D010940:Plant Proteins; D002110:Caffeine; D002392:Catechin; C045651:epigallocatechin gallate
keywords: Colletotrichum; Theaceae; catechins; disease resistance; tea polyphenols