{"title":"Amino Acid Transporter CsBAT Links GABA Accumulation to Flavonoid Metabolism in Camellia sinensis","authors":"Lin Feng, Panpan Liu, Yuanyuan He, Shengpeng Wang, Rui Luo, Anhui Gui, Jinjin Xue, Shiwei Gao, Pengcheng Zheng","doi":"10.1093/hr/uhaf261","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a signature bioactive compound in tea, plays a crucial role in determining both flavor profile and health-promoting properties. Despite its importance, the molecular regulation of GABA accumulation in tea plants - especially its metabolic crosstalk with key quality determinants like flavonoids - remains elusive. While amino acid transporters are known to mediate source-sink allocation in plants, the functional characterization of GABA transporters in Camellia sinensis has been lacking. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized the bidirectional amino acid transporter CsBAT in tea plants. Through a comprehensive multi-platform validation system encompassing yeast heterologous expression, Arabidopsis genetic transformation, and tea transgenic system, we revealed that CsBAT shows vascular-specific expression patterns and facilitates directional amino acid transport from source (mature leaves) to sink (young shoots), thereby significantly boosting GABA accumulation in buds and young leaves. Importantly, we discovered that CsBAT functionally interacts with key flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes (LAR, 4CL, C4H) within secondary metabolic networks. Our findings provide the first mechanistic link between CsBAT-mediated amino acid transport and tea quality formation, establishing both theoretical frameworks and practical tools for molecular breeding of premium tea cultivars.","PeriodicalId":13179,"journal":{"name":"Horticulture Research","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":8.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Horticulture Research","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhaf261","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"Agricultural and Biological Sciences","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA), a signature bioactive compound in tea, plays a crucial role in determining both flavor profile and health-promoting properties. Despite its importance, the molecular regulation of GABA accumulation in tea plants - especially its metabolic crosstalk with key quality determinants like flavonoids - remains elusive. While amino acid transporters are known to mediate source-sink allocation in plants, the functional characterization of GABA transporters in Camellia sinensis has been lacking. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized the bidirectional amino acid transporter CsBAT in tea plants. Through a comprehensive multi-platform validation system encompassing yeast heterologous expression, Arabidopsis genetic transformation, and tea transgenic system, we revealed that CsBAT shows vascular-specific expression patterns and facilitates directional amino acid transport from source (mature leaves) to sink (young shoots), thereby significantly boosting GABA accumulation in buds and young leaves. Importantly, we discovered that CsBAT functionally interacts with key flavonoid biosynthetic enzymes (LAR, 4CL, C4H) within secondary metabolic networks. Our findings provide the first mechanistic link between CsBAT-mediated amino acid transport and tea quality formation, establishing both theoretical frameworks and practical tools for molecular breeding of premium tea cultivars.
期刊介绍:
Horticulture Research, an open access journal affiliated with Nanjing Agricultural University, has achieved the prestigious ranking of number one in the Horticulture category of the Journal Citation Reports ™ from Clarivate, 2022. As a leading publication in the field, the journal is dedicated to disseminating original research articles, comprehensive reviews, insightful perspectives, thought-provoking comments, and valuable correspondence articles and letters to the editor. Its scope encompasses all vital aspects of horticultural plants and disciplines, such as biotechnology, breeding, cellular and molecular biology, evolution, genetics, inter-species interactions, physiology, and the origination and domestication of crops.