Identification and profile of phenolamides with anthracnose resistance potential in tea (Camellia sinensis)

Abstract

Tea anthracnose is a prevalent disease in China that can lead to reduced tea production and lower quality, yet there is currently a lack of effective means for controlling this disease. In this study, we identified 46 phenolamides (including 27 isomers) in different tissues and organs of tea plants based on a developed workflow, and the secondary mass spectra of all these compounds have been documented. It was revealed that tea plants predominantly accumulate protonated aliphatic phenolamides, rather than aromatic phenolamides. The profile of phenolamides indicate that their buildup in tea plants is specific to certain tissues and acyl-acceptors, and this distribution is associated with the extent of phenolamide acyl-modification. Additionally, it was observed that N-Feruloylputrescine (Fer-Put, a type of phenolamides) was responsive to the stimulated accumulation of the tea anthracnose pathogen. The findings of anti-anthracnose experiments in vitro and on tea leaf demonstrated that Fer-Put was capable of significantly inhibiting the growth of anthracnose pathogen colony, effectively prevented tea leaf disease. Furthermore, it was observed that Fer-Put treatment can enhance the antioxidant enzyme activity of tea leaves. TEA002780.1 and TEA013165.1 gene may be responsible for the biosynthesis of Fer-Put in the disease resistance process in tea plants. Through these studies, the types and distribution of phenolamides in tea plants have been elucidated, and Fer-Put’s ability to resist anthracnose has been established, providing new insights into the resistance of tea anthracnose.

Acknowledgements

We thank Miss Jing Zhao (Horticulture Science Research Center, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China) for providing professional technical assistance with LC–MS/MS analysis. Some text in this paper was polished by Stork’s Writing Assistant (https://www.storkapp.me/writeassistant/). This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (32202551), the Natural Science Basic Research Program of Shaanxi (2022JQ-194), the earmarked fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System (CARS-19), the National Key Research and Development Program (2022YFD1602000), the Agricultural Special Fund Project of Shaanxi Province (NYKJ-2022-YL(XN)37) and the special fund for University-Supported Extension Model (TGZX2022-2).

Author contributions

W.W. and Y.Y. conceived and designed the experiments. W.W., X.X., H.G., L.B., C.G. and J.Z. collected the tea samples. W.W., Y.L., X.X., L.L., Q.H., H.G., and Y.B. performed the experiment. W.W. and X.X. analysed the data and performed the visualization. W.W. drafted the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.

Data availability

All data supporting the conclusions of this study may be found in the publication and its supplemental materials, which are available online. Any additional relevant information can be obtained from the corresponding author upon request.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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