Terpenoid Esters Are the Major Constituents From Leaf Lipid Droplets of Camellia sinensis

Xin Zhou; Xin Zhou; Xin Zhou; Xiaobing Chen; Xiaobing Chen; Xiaobing Chen; Zhenghua Du; Yi Zhang; Wenjing Zhang; Xiangrui Kong; Jay J. Thelen; Changsong Chen; Mingjie Chen

doi:10.3389/fpls.2019.00179

Frontiers in Plant Science (Feb 2019)

Terpenoid Esters Are the Major Constituents From Leaf Lipid Droplets of Camellia sinensis

Xin Zhou,
Xin Zhou,
Xin Zhou,
Xiaobing Chen,
Xiaobing Chen,
Xiaobing Chen,
Zhenghua Du,
Yi Zhang,
Wenjing Zhang,
Xiangrui Kong,
Jay J. Thelen,
Changsong Chen,
Mingjie Chen

Affiliations

Xin Zhou: College of Horticulture and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant System Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Xin Zhou: Tea Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fujian, China
Xin Zhou: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Xiaobing Chen: College of Horticulture and Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Haixia Applied Plant System Biology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Xiaobing Chen: Tea Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fujian, China
Xiaobing Chen: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Zhenghua Du: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Yi Zhang: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Wenjing Zhang: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China
Xiangrui Kong: Tea Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fujian, China
Jay J. Thelen: Division of Biochemistry, Interdisciplinary Plant Group, Christopher S. Bond Life Science Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
Changsong Chen: Tea Research Institute, Fujian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Fujian, China
Mingjie Chen: FAFU-UCR Joint Center for Horticultural Plant Biology and Metabolomics, Haixia Institute of Science and Technology, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fujian, China

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2019.00179
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 10

Abstract

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Lipid droplets (LDs) have been widely found from diverse species and exhibit diverse functions. It remains unexplored what potential roles they played in tea. To address this question, we analyzed the chemical composition and the dynamic changes of cytosolic LDs during leaf growth and diurnal cycle. Using TopFluor cholesterol and Nile Red staining we demonstrated that cytosolic LDs were heterogeneous in tea tree (Camellia sinensis cv. Tieguanyin); the size and number of LDs increased with leaf growth. Compositional analysis showed that terpenoid esters and diacylglycerol are the major components of cytosolic LDs. The contents of total sterol esters (SEs) and β-amyrin esters increased with leaf expansion and growth; individual SE also showed diurnal changes. Our data suggest that cytosolic LDs from tea tree leave mainly serve as storage site for free sterols and triterpenoids in the form of esters. Cytosolic LDs were not the major contributors to the aroma quality of made tea.

Published in Frontiers in Plant Science

ISSN: 1664-462X (Online)
Publisher: Frontiers Media S.A.
Country of publisher: Switzerland
LCC subjects: Agriculture: Plant culture
Website: https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science

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