AUTHOR=Wang Yu , Ouyang Jia-Xue , Fan Dong-Mei , Wang Shu-Mao , Xuan Yi-Min , Wang Xiao-Chang , Zheng Xin-Qiang 

TITLE=Transcriptome analysis of tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves in response to ammonium starvation and recovery

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.963269

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.963269

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=<p>The tea plant is a kind of ammonium-preferring crop, but the mechanism whereby ammonium (NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup>) regulate its growth is not well understood. The current study focused on the effects of NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> on tea plants. Transcriptomic analysis was performed to investigate the early- and late-stage NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> deprivation and resupply in tea plants shoots. Through short- and long-term NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> deficiency, the dynamic response to NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> stress was investigated. The most significant effects of NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> deficiency were found to be on photosynthesis and gene ontology (GO) enrichment varied with the length of NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> deprivation. Enriched KEGG pathways were also different when NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> was resupplied at different concentrations which may indicate reasons for tolerance of high NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> concentration. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), modules related to significant tea components, tea polyphenols and free amino acids, were identified. Hence, NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> could be regarded as a signaling molecule with the response of catechins shown to be higher than that of amino acids. The current work represents a comprehensive transcriptomic analysis of plant responses to NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> and reveals many potential genes regulated by NH<sub>4</sub><sup>+</sup> in tea plants. Such findings may lead to improvements in nitrogen efficiency of tea plants.</p>