Journal of Tea Science Research, 2025, Vol.15, No.1, 38-46 http://hortherbpublisher.com/index.php/jtsr 42 4.2 Proteomics and metabolomics applications in stress responses Proteomic and metabolomic analysis complements transcriptomics to identify responsive proteins and metabolites under stress. Metabolomic profiling has identified the buildup of catechins and flavonoids under cold and disease stress, which agrees with defense gene induction (Li et al., 2025). Proteomics has identified protein abundance fluctuation and post-translational modification in response to drought and pathogen infection and proved the dynamic regulation of stress responses (Li et al., 2022). 4.3 Epigenetic regulation in stress resistance Epigenetic control by DNA methylation, microRNAs (miRNAs), and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) is crucial in controlling gene expression during stress response. System-level omics strategies have identified stress-inducible miRNAs that regulate defense genes post-transcriptionally, such as miR530b and miRn211, which regulate ROS-related genes during infection. DNA methylation modifications have also been shown to be implicated in the regulation of stress-inducible genes and with preservation of stress resistance phenotypes (Li, 2024). 4.4 Integration of multi-omics data and systems biology approaches Integration of multi-omics data facilitates the construction of global regulatory networks and the discovery of candidate genes, proteins, and metabolites in stress tolerance. Co-expression network analysis and machine learning approaches in systems biology allow for the discovery of biomarkers and regulation modules for breeding stress-tolerant tea cultivars (Yue et al., 2023; Kajrolkar, 2025). Integrated study is driving climate-resilient tea plant and precision breeding. 5 Molecular Breeding and Strategies for Stress Resistance Improvement in Tea Plants 5.1 Marker-assisted selection (MAS) in stress-resistant breeding Marker-assisted selection (MAS) has become a valuable technique for breeding tea plants with enhanced abiotic and biotic stress tolerance. Reference genomes of high quality and molecular markers with versatility facilitate the identification and selection of major genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for stress tolerance, such as those involved in cold, drought tolerance, and insect resistance (Xia et al., 2020; Joshi et al., 2023). MAS speeds up breeding through early and precise selection of the targeted traits, and is being integrated more and more with multi-omics data for enhanced efficiency. 5.2 Potential of gene editing (CRISPR/Cas) in tea stress resistance Gene editing technology, particularly the CRISPR/Cas systems, holds high promise for precision editing of stress-resistance genes in tea plants. Though successful implementation in tea is yet to arrive in the spotlight due to technical challenges, CRISPR/Cas has been extensively employed in other crops for the engineering of drought, salinity, and heat stress tolerance through regulation gene and transcription factor targeting (Nascimento et al., 2023). The development of efficient transformation systems and candidate gene identification in tea will also enable the use of gene editing for the enhancement of stress tolerance in a rapid manner (Nascimento et al., 2023). 5.3 Germplasm innovation and identification of stress-tolerant resources Their analysis and use are the foundation for breeding stress-tolerant cultivars. Hybridization, extensive crossing, and identification of trace alleles in less studied Camellia species enhanced the genetic basis for resistance breeding. CsAFS2 and CsWRKY48 gene activities have unveiled their activities for cold, drought, and insect resistance enhancement and provided valuable targets for molecular breeding (Wang et al., 2024). Germplasm innovation is supported by multi-omics techniques that reveal allelic variation and adaptation characteristics (Xia et al., 2020). 5.4 Balancing stress resistance with tea quality improvement One of the main challenges of molecular breeding is to enhance tolerance to stress while preserving tea quality. Combined breeding strategies highlight selection for resistance characteristics and for quality-characteristic metabolites such as catechins and theanine. Experiments have proven that exogenous treatment (e.g., methyl
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==