Journal of Tea Science Research, 2024, Vol.14, No.6, 344-352 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/jtsr 350 8 Concluding Remarks Biosynthesis of catechin in tea leaves is regulated by a cluster of phenylpropanoid and flavonoid pathway structural genes that are involved in CHS, ANR, and SCPL enzymes. Transcriptional profiling and gene co-expression network analysis identified thousands of differentially expressed genes and highlighted the roles of transcription factors—MYB, bHLH, and WD40—in controlling catechin accumulation throughout leaf development and upon environmental stimulation. The research has also recently shown the function of TCP and GLK transcription factors, which process developmental and environmental information to enhance catechin biosynthesis. Transcriptional control lies at the heart of catechin metabolism, with MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) complexes and additional transcription factors (e.g., CsMYB1, CsTCPs, CsGLKs) activating or repressing biosynthetic genes directly. Epigenetic control through promoter insertions and chromatin remodeling also regulates gene expression, as in the domestication selection of CsMYB1 alleles for enhanced catechin content and stress tolerance. Multi-omics approaches—combining genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics—have enabled the identification of hub genes, regulatory modules, and environmental factors (light, temperature, and nutrients) that in combination specify catechin profiles in different cultivars and tissues. The integration of functional genomics and molecular breeding holds great promise for developing high-quality tea cultivars with optimized catechin content. Marker-assisted selection, QTL mapping, and gene editing technologies are poised to accelerate the breeding of tea plants with desirable flavor, health benefits, and environmental resilience. Continued application of multi-omics and systems biology will deepen our mechanistic understanding and facilitate the rational design of functional tea products tailored to consumer and agronomic needs. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Professor Wang for his guidance and support during this study. Conflict of Interest Disclosure The authors affirm that this research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Reference Ahmad M., Li P., She G., Xia E., Benedito V., Wan X., and Zhao J., 2020, Genome-wide analysis of serine carboxypeptidase-like acyltransferase gene family for evolution and characterization of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of galloylated catechins in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), Frontiers in Plant Science, 11: 848. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.00848 Bure I., Nemtsova M., and Kuznetsova E., 2022, Histone modifications and non-coding RNAs: Mutual epigenetic regulation and role in pathogenesis, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(10): 5801. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23105801 Chen C., Wang J., Pan D., Wang X., Xu Y., Yan J., Wang L., Yang X., Yang M., and Liu G., 2023, Applications of multi-omics analysis in human diseases, MedComm, 4(4): e315. https://doi.org/10.1002/mco2.315 Guo F., Guo Y., Wang P., Wang Y., and Ni D., 2017, Transcriptional profiling of catechins biosynthesis genes during tea plant leaf development, Planta, 246(6): 1139-1152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-017-2760-2 Jiang C.J., Liu Y., Chen J., Ni D., and Chen L., 2020, Identification and distribution of a single nucleotide polymorphism responsible for the catechin content in tea plants, Horticulture Research, 7: 18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-020-0247-y Jin J., Qu F., Huang H., Liu Q., Wei M., Zhou Y., Huang K., Cui Z., Chen J., Dai W., Zhu L., Yao M., Zhang Z., and Chen L., 2023, Characterization of two O-methyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of O-methylated catechins in tea plant, Nature Communications, 14: 5402. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40868-9 Jin J.J., Yao M., Chen C., and Chen L., 2016, Functional natural allelic variants of flavonoid 3′,5′-hydroxylase gene governing catechin traits in tea plant and its relatives, Planta, 245(3): 523-538. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-016-2620-5
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