Abstract: During the growth and development of tea plants (Camellia sinensis), abiotic stresses such as drought and salinity frequently occur, causing significant adverse effects on tea yield and quality. This study focused on the tea phospholipid: diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (PDAT1) gene and systematically investigated its function in response to abiotic stresses through bioinformatics analysis, gene expression pattern detection, and transgenic functional verification. Bioinformatics analysis reveals that the protein encoded by the CsPDAT1 gene possesses a typical lysophospholipid acyltransferase (lysoPLA) domain. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) results demonstrats that the expression of the CsPDAT1 gene was significantly upregulated under drought and high-salt treatments, particularly during the early stages of drought stress. To further elucidate its function, researchers constructed an overexpression vector for the CsPDAT1 gene and transformed it into Arabidopsis thaliana. Finally three homozygous T3-generation transgenic lines were obtained. Phenotypic analysis reveals that under drought stress, Arabidopsis plants overexpressing the CsPDAT1 gene exhibited a significantly higher seed germination rate compared to that of wild-type plants, along with reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content, increased proline content, and significantly enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity. This study confirmed that the CsPDAT1 gene in tea plants enhances plant tolerance to abiotic stress by regulating cell membrane lipid metabolism and the accumulation of osmoprotectants, providing a theoretical foundation and genetic resources for stress-resistant molecular breeding in tea plants.

Key words: tea plant, CsPDAT1, gene cloning, drought resistance