Acta Agriculturae Zhejiangensis ›› 2025, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (9): 1860-1871.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-1524.20240563

• Crop Science • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Characteristic metabolite content and cold resistance of 54 tea germplasms

YANG Chun1(), LIANG Sihui1, WANG Anran1, CHEN Juan1, LI Yan1, LIN Kaiqin1, MI Xiaozeng1, QIAO Dahe1,2, CHEN Zhengwu1,2, GUO Yan1,*()   

  1. 1 Guizhou Tea Research Institute, Guiyang 550006, China
    2 Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Resources and Germplasm Innovation in Karst Region, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guiyang 550006, China
  • Received:2024-06-28 Online:2025-09-25 Published:2025-10-15
  • Contact: GUO Yan

Abstract:

To breed new tea plant cultivars with cold resistance and high quality, and clarify the correlation between characteristic metabolite content and cold tolerance in tea plants, the freezing injury index of 54 tea germplasms was obtained through field investigation. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect 27 biochemical components. Biochemical components which were closely related to cold resistance were identified through significance analysis of difference, correlation analysis, and path analysis. The results showed that among the 54 germplasms, 16 exhibited highly cold resistance and 7 showed highly cold sensitivity. Caffeine, epigallocatechin gallate(EGCG), and theanine were the predominant alkaloid, catechin, and amino acid components, respectively, with average contents of 32.96, 54.89, and 24.17 mg·g-1. The average coefficient of variation and genetic diversity index of amino acids were higher than those of alkaloids and catechins. The EGCG content in highly cold resistant germplasms was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that in highly cold sensitive germplasms. Conversely, the contents of nine amino acids, including theanine, serine, and threonine, were significantly (p<0.05 or p<0.01) lower in highly cold resistant germplasms. Correlation analysis revealed a highly significant (p<0.01) negative correlation between EGCG and freezing injury index, while eleven amino acids (including alanine, serine, leucine and so on) showed significant (p<0.05 or p<0.01) positive correlations with freezing injury index. Path analysis showed that serine and glutamic acid are the biochemical components with the greatest impact on the tea plant freezing injury index, with their contribution rates to the freezing injury index being 0.53 and 0.50, respectively. They might be key biochemical components affecting cold resistance in tea plants. Based on the content of biochemical components and freezing injury index, six tea germplasms with both strong cold resistance and high theanine content were selected, which are suitable for high-altitude mountain tea regions in Guizhou Province. Among them, GT-GY-05 and GT-AS-81 exhibited strong cold resistance and high theanine content (≥30.0 mg·g-1), making them suitable for breeding new cold resistant and high quality tea varieties.

Key words: tea plant, freezing injury index, caffeine, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), L-theanine, amino acid

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