Non-Volatile Metabolic Profiling and Regulatory Network Analysis in Fresh Shoots of Tea Plant and Its Wild Relatives

Abstract

There are numerous non-volatile metabolites in the fresh shoots of tea plants. However, we know little about the complex relationship between the content of these metabolites and their gene expression levels. In investigating this, this study involved non-volatile metabolites from 68 accessions of tea plants that were detected and identified using untargeted metabolomics. The tea accessions were divided into three groups from the results of a principal component analysis based on the relative content of the metabolites. There were differences in variability between the primary and secondary metabolites. Furthermore, correlations among genes, gene metabolites, and metabolites were conducted based on Pearson's correlation coefficient (PCC) values. This study offered several significant insights into the co-current network of genes and metabolites in the global genetic background. Thus, the study is useful for providing insights into the regulatory relationship of the genetic basis for predominant metabolites in fresh tea shoots.