Genome-wide Identification and Stress Response Analysis of the WAT1 Gene Family in Camellia sinensis

HE An; CAO Mengfei; ZHOU Jin; WANG Yuchun; ZHANG Kexin; CHEN Yanan

doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2026.05.002

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Journal of Tea Science ›› 2026, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (5) : 807-820. DOI: 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2026.05.002

Research Paper

Genome-wide Identification and Stress Response Analysis of the WAT1 Gene Family in Camellia sinensis

HE An¹, CAO Mengfei¹, ZHOU Jin¹, WANG Yuchun¹, ZHANG Kexin^2,*, CHEN Yanan^1,*

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Abstract

Tea plants (Camellia sinensis) are one of the important economic crops in China. The growth, development, yield and quality of tea plants are severely threatened by fungal diseases such as anthracnose. Plant disease resistance involves complex hormone signaling regulatory networks and the coordinated action of various transmembrane transport proteins. The WAT1 (Walls are thin 1) gene family encodes plant-specific membrane transport proteins that play important roles in auxin transport, secondary cell wall formation and stress responses. In this study, using tea plant genome data, we performed a genome-wide identification of the WAT1 gene family in Camellia sinensis (CsWAT1) and systematically analyzed the physicochemical properties, phylogenetic relationships, chromosomal distribution, gene structure, promoter cis-acting element composition, and tissue expression profiles of the encoded proteins. A total of 41 CsWAT1 gene members were identified in the tea genome, with molecular weights ranging from 15.21 kDa to 48.15 kDa, and all proteins were predicted to contain multiple transmembrane helices. Subcellular localization prediction reveals that 32 CsWAT1 proteins are localized to the plasma membrane and 9 to the vacuolar membrane, with almost all members displaying basic characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the CsWAT1 family can be divided into 8 subgroups, and extensive syntenic relationships were identified between CsWAT1 members and those of Arabidopsis thaliana. Promoter cis-element analysis reveals that the promoter regions of CsWAT1 genes are enriched for elements related to light response, phytohormone response, and abiotic and biotic stress responses. Tissue expression analysis shows that CsWAT1 family members exhibit distinct expression patterns across different organs. Further RT-qPCR analysis reveals that CsWAT1-11 was significantly induced under both Colletotrichum camelliae infection and methyl jasminate (MJ) treatment. This study represents the first systematic identification and analysis of the CsWAT1 gene family in tea plants, encompassing member characteristics, evolutionary relationships, and expression profiles. These findings reveal the potential roles of certain CsWAT1 genes in pathogen responses and provide candidate genes and a theoretical basis for further elucidating the functions of CsWAT1 in tea plant responses to anthracnose.

Key words

tea plant / WAT1 gene / genome-wide identification / expression analysis / anthracnose

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HE An, CAO Mengfei, ZHOU Jin, WANG Yuchun, ZHANG Kexin, CHEN Yanan. Genome-wide Identification and Stress Response Analysis of the WAT1 Gene Family in Camellia sinensis[J]. Journal of Tea Science. 2026, 46(5): 807-820 https://doi.org/10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2026.05.002

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