Dataset Information

The GC-TOF/MS-based Metabolomic analysis reveals altered metabolic profiles in nitrogen-deficient leaves and roots of tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

ABSTRACT:

Background

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is commonly considered as one of the most important limiting factors in the agricultural production. As a result, a large amount of N fertilizer is used to improve the yield in modern tea production. Unfortunately, the large amount of N fertilizer input has led to increased plant nitrogen-tolerance and decreased amplitude of yield improvement, which results in significant N loss, energy waste and environment pollution. However, the effects of N-deficiency on the metabolic profiles of tea leaves and roots are not well understood.

Results

In this study, seedlings of Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze Chunlv 2 were treated with 3 mM NH4NO3 (Control) or without NH4NO3 (N-deficiency) for 4 months by sandy culture. The results suggested that N-deficiency induced tea leaf chlorosis, impaired biomass accumulation, decreased the leaf chlorophyll content and N absorption when they were compared to the Control samples. The untargeted metabolomics based on GC-TOF/MS approach revealed a discrimination of the metabolic profiles between N-deficient tea leaves and roots. The identification and classification of the altered metabolites indicated that N deficiency upregulated the relative abundances of most phenylpropanoids and organic acids, while downregulated the relative abundances of most amino acids in tea leaves. Differentially, N-deficiency induced the accumulation of most carbohydrates, organic acids and amino acids in tea roots. The potential biomarkers screened in N-deficient leaves compared to Control implied that N deficiency might reduce the tea quality. Unlike the N-deficient leaves, the potential biomarkers in N-deficient roots indicated an improved stress response might occur in tea roots.

Conclusions

The results demonstrated N deficiency had different effects on the primary and secondary metabolism in tea leaves and roots. The findings of this study will facilitate a comprehensive understanding of the N-deficient tea plants and provide a valuable reference for the optimized N nutrient management and the sustainable development in the tea plantations.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12870-021-03285-y.

SUBMITTER: Lin Z

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8561955 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Background: Lysine crotonylation (Kcr), as a novel evolutionarily conserved type of PTM, is ubiquitous and essential in cell biology. However, its functions in tea plant, an important beverage crop, are largely unknown. Our study firstly attempted to describe Kcr proteins in tea leaves under NH4+ deficiency/resupply, and provided significant insights into exploring the physiological role of Kcr in plants for N utilization. Results: We performed the global analysis of crotonylome in tea plants under NH4+ deficiency/resupply using high-resolution LC-MS/MS coupled with highly sensitive immune-antibody. A total of 2288 kcr sites on 971 proteins were identified, of which contained in 15 types of Kcr motifs. Most of Kcr proteins were located in chloroplast and cytoplasm. 120 and 151 Kcr proteins were significantly changed at 3 hours and 3days of NH4+ resupply, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis showed that differentially expressed Kcr proteins participated in diverse biological processes such as photosynthesis, carbon fixation and amino acid metabolism, suggesting Kcr plays important roles in these processes. Interestingly, a large number of enzymes were crotonylated, and the activity and Kcr level of these enzymes changed significantly after NH4+ resupply, indicating a potential function of Kcr in the regulation of enzyme activities. Moreover, the protein-protein interaction analysis revealed that the diverse interactions of identified Kcr proteins mainly involved in photosynthesis, carbon fixation, amino acid metabolism and ribosome. Conclusions: The results suggested that lysine crotonylated proteins might play regulating roles in metabolic process in tea leaves under NH4+ deficiency/resupply. The critical regulatory roles mainly involved in diverse aspects of primary metabolic processes, especially in photosynthesis, carbon fixation and amino acid metabolism. The provided data may serve as important resources for exploring the physiological, biochemical, and genetic role of lysine crotonylation in tea plants.