Root-specific theanine metabolism and regulation at the single-cell level in tea plants (Camellia sinensis)
2024
Shijia Lin | Yiwen Zhang | Shupei Zhang | Yijie Wei | Mengxue Han | Yamei Deng | Jiayi Guo | Biying Zhu | Tianyuan Yang | Enhua Xia | Xiaochun Wan | William J Lucas | Zhaoliang Zhang
Root-synthesized secondary metabolites are critical quality-conferring compounds of foods, plant-derived medicines, and beverages. However, information at a single-cell level on root-specific secondary metabolism remains largely unexplored. L-Theanine, an important quality component of tea, is primarily synthesized in roots, from which it is then transported to new shoots of tea plant. In this study, we present a single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq)-derived map for the tea plant root, which enabled cell-type-specific analysis of glutamate and ethylamine (two precursors of theanine biosynthesis) metabolism, and theanine biosynthesis, storage, and transport. Our findings support a model in which the theanine biosynthesis pathway occurs via multicellular compartmentation and does not require high co-expression levels of transcription factors and their target genes within the same cell cluster. This study provides novel insights into theanine metabolism and regulation, at the single-cell level, and offers an example for studying root-specific secondary metabolism in other plant systems.
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