Elucidation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of the High EGCG3&#x02032;&#x02032;Me Content in Tea Germplasms

LI Yuanyuan; YAO Mingzhe; JIN Jiqiang

doi:10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2025.06.005

Journal of Tea Science >

2025 , Vol. 45 >Issue 6: 909 - 919

DOI: https://doi.org/10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2025.06.005

Research Paper

Elucidation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of the High EGCG3′′Me Content in Tea Germplasms

LI Yuanyuan ,
YAO Mingzhe ,
JIN Jiqiang

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1. Tea Research Institute of the Chinese of Agricultural Sciences, National Key Laboratory for Tea Plant Germplasm Innovation and Resource Utilization, Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Hangzhou 310008, China;
2. Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Received date: 2025-05-19

Online published: 2025-12-10

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Abstract

Methylated catechins exhibit significant physiological activities, such as anti-allergy effects, and demonstrate stronger stability and higher oral absorption rate than unmethylated catechins. However, tea germplasms rich in methylated catechins are relatively rare. This study measured the EGCG3′′Me content in 447 tea germplasms from different regions with extensive genetic backgrounds, and two unique tea germplasms with high EGCG3′′Me content, namely ‘Jinxiu 2-2’ (JX) and ‘Pinming Tea’ (PM), were found. The tea germplasms JX, PM, and ‘Hongfugui’ (BFK) with high EGCG3′′Me content, as well as ‘Shuchazao’ (SCZ) with EGCG3′′Me content below the detection limit, were used as research materials. Relative expression levels of flavonol and anthocyanin O-methyltransferase (CsFAOMT1) in JX, PM, and BFK were significantly higher than that in SCZ. Further analysis reveals that four types of CsFAOMT1 alleles were cloned from the four tea germplasms, and all of them contain CsFAOMT1.3. Enzyme activity analysis at the protein level reveals that the CsFAOMT1 protein activities in the three tea germplasms with high EGCG3′′Me content all exhibit high activity with minimal differences between them. These results indicate that JX and PM can enrich EGCG3′′Me due to their high expression levels of CsFAOMT1. This study identified tea germplasm with high EGCG3′′Me content and elucidated the molecular mechanisms underlying its unique traits, providing important materials and theoretical basis for breeding new tea cultivars with high methylated catechin content.

Key words： O-methyltransferase; allele; methylated catechins; tea plant

Cite this article

LI Yuanyuan , YAO Mingzhe , JIN Jiqiang . Elucidation of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Formation of the High EGCG3′′Me Content in Tea Germplasms[J]. Journal of Tea Science, 2025 , 45(6) : 909 -919 . DOI: 10.13305/j.cnki.jts.2025.06.005

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