Abstract
Main conclusion
CsNAC086 was found to promote the expression of CsFLS, thus promoting the accumulation of flavonols in Camellia sinensis.
Abstract
Flavonols, the main flavonoids in tea plants, play an important role in the taste and quality of tea. In this study, a NAC TF gene CsNAC086 was isolated from tea plants and confirmed its regulatory role in the expression of flavonol synthase which is a key gene involved in the biosynthesis of flavonols in tea plant. Yeast transcription-activity assays showed that CsNAC086 has self-activation activity. The transcriptional activator domain of CsNAC086 is located in the non-conserved C-terminal region (positions 171–550), while the conserved NAC domain (positions 1–170) does not have self-activation activity. Silencing the CsNAC086 gene using antisense oligonucleotides significantly decreased the expression of CsFLS. As a result, the concentration of flavonols decreased significantly. In overexpressing CsNAC086 tobacco leaves, the expression of NtFLS was significantly increased. Compared with wild-type tobacco, the flavonols concentration increased. Yeast one-hybrid assays showed CsNAC086 did not directly regulate the gene expression of CsFLS. These findings indicate that CsNAC086 plays a role in regulating flavonols biosynthesis in tea plants, which has important implications for selecting and breeding of high-flavonols-concentration containing tea-plant cultivars.
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Data availability
The nucleotide sequence reported in this study have been deposited in the NCBI GenBank with accession number: OQ863021.
Abbreviations
- CHS:
-
Chalcone synthase
- F3H:
-
Flavanone-3-hydroxylase
- FLS:
-
Flavonol synthase
- AsODN:
-
Antisense oligonucleotides
- sODNs:
-
Sense oligodeoxynucleotide
- TF:
-
Transcription factor
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Acknowledgements
This work was financially supported by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LY19C160003), open fund project of Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P. R. China (No. TZDZW202203), and the Scientific Research Project of Zhejiang Education Department (Y202353282). This work was supported by the Public Research Platform of the College of Horticultural Science, Zhejiang A&F University.
Funding
Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province, LY19C160003, Chun-Fang Li, Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, P. R. China, TZDZW202203, Chun-Fang Li. The Scientific Research Project of Zhejiang Education Department, Y202353282, Wei-Xi Ran.
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CFL and LC designed the experiments and coordinated the project. SSS and WXR conducted the AsODN analyses, metabolite concentration analysis, and gene expression level analysis. LHG performed gene cloning, transcriptional activity analysis, and gene overexpression in tobacco. YCW and WYL performed the yeast one-hybrid assays. YT carried out the subcellular analysis. CFL, LC, and SSS were responsible for writing and editing the manuscript. All authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.
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Song, SS., Ran, WX., Gao, LH. et al. A functional study reveals CsNAC086 regulated the biosynthesis of flavonols in Camellia sinensis. Planta 259, 147 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04426-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-024-04426-x