Metabolome and Transcriptome Sequencing Analysis Reveals Anthocyanin Metabolism in Pink Flowers of Anthocyanin-Rich Tea (Camellia sinensis).

ABSTRACT: Almost all flowers of the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) are white, which has caused few researchers to pay attention to anthocyanin accumulation and color changing in tea flowers. A new purple-leaf cultivar, Baitang purple tea (BTP) was discovered in the Baitang Mountains of Guangdong, whose flowers are naturally pink, and can provide an opportunity to understand anthocyanin metabolic networks and flower color development in tea flowers. In the present study, twelve anthocyanin components were identified in the pink tea flowers, namely cyanidin O-syringic acid, petunidin 3-O-glucoside, pelargonidin 3-O-beta-d-glucoside, which marks the first time these compounds have been found in the tea flowers. The presence of these anthocyanins seem most likely to be the reason for the pink coloration

SUBMITTER: Rothenberg DO 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6471635 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature