Tea, among the worlds most popular drinks, owes its unique flavor to theanine, an amino acid.
Theanine offers a fragile sweet taste that stabilizes the bitterness of catechins and caffeine, while its calming impacts can alleviate anxiety and promote much better sleep.Theanine levels are high in brand-new tea plant shoots that come out throughout early spring, but then considerably reduce in late spring, causing a rapid decrease in the quality of green tea processed from the late-spring harvest.However, the molecular systems underlying this seasonal decline in theanine levels remained unknown for many years.
Recently, a team led by Professor Zhang Zhaoliang of Anhui Agricultural University has actually solved the puzzle through long-lasting research study, with findings released in the journal The Plant Cell.During springs quick growth phase, tea plants metabolize theanine as a nitrogen source for brand-new shoot development.
First, the CsTHS1 transporter delivers theanine from the cytoplasm to mitochondria –-- the powerhouse of the cell.
The CsGGT2 enzyme degrades theanine, reducing its concentration.Temperature is a crucial regulator of this procedure.
With seasonal warming, both CsTHS1 and CsGGT2 increase in tea plants, speeding up theanine degradation.By exposing theanine metabolism in tea plants, this study might provide strategies to enhance late-spring tea taste.
We can utilize gene editing for accuracy breeding, or establish unique fertilizers and shading techniques to preserve theanine levels for smarter growing of premium spring teas, Zhang said.