Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis

Abstract Background There is a Chinese proverb that good tea comes from high mountains with clouds and mists, suggesting the important impact of environmental factors on the development and secondary metabolism in tea plants. However, the epigenetic mechanism involved is still unclear. Results High...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pu Wang, Hong Zhang, Yongli Yin, Yue Ge, Binrui Chen, Jing Hu, Yu Wang, Dejiang Ni, Fei Guo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-06-01
Series:Genome Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03618-2
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849724925019947008
author Pu Wang
Hong Zhang
Yongli Yin
Yue Ge
Binrui Chen
Jing Hu
Yu Wang
Dejiang Ni
Fei Guo
author_facet Pu Wang
Hong Zhang
Yongli Yin
Yue Ge
Binrui Chen
Jing Hu
Yu Wang
Dejiang Ni
Fei Guo
author_sort Pu Wang
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background There is a Chinese proverb that good tea comes from high mountains with clouds and mists, suggesting the important impact of environmental factors on the development and secondary metabolism in tea plants. However, the epigenetic mechanism involved is still unclear. Results High altitude results in light enhancement with a higher retention of short-wavelength light in cloudy conditions, suggesting the key role of short-wavelength light in the quality formation of tea plants. Thus, we focus on the representative short-wavelength light, blue and UV-A, and characterize plant responses in epigenome, transcriptome, leaf development, and metabolome. We profile six histone modifications under different light wavelengths and link these to leaf development and secondary metabolism, including changes in gene expression during flavonoid, theanine, caffeine, and β-carotene biosynthesis. There is higher stomatal density and thicker mesophyll tissues under blue light, with higher levels of chlorophyll components under UV-A light. The epigenome results in differential changes of stomatal density and quality components in different light conditions. We further identify crucial histone modifications in leaf development and secondary metabolism. Functional analyses suggest diverse regulations mediated by cryptochrome and phototropin in light adaptation, and we confirm the important role of CsSDG36-mediated histone H3K4 methylation. Conclusion Our results not only reveal the landscape of histone modifications, transcripts, leaf development, and metabolites from different lights in tea plants, but also provide insight into the roles of photoreceptors and epigenetic mechanisms involved in leaf development and secondary metabolism.
format Article
id doaj-art-93bbb738ee8541fda50185286508f731
institution DOAJ
issn 1474-760X
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher BMC
record_format Article
series Genome Biology
spelling doaj-art-93bbb738ee8541fda50185286508f7312025-08-20T03:10:36ZengBMCGenome Biology1474-760X2025-06-0126112710.1186/s13059-025-03618-2Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensisPu Wang0Hong Zhang1Yongli Yin2Yue Ge3Binrui Chen4Jing Hu5Yu Wang6Dejiang Ni7Fei Guo8National Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityNational Key Laboratory for Germplasm Innovation & Utilization of Horticultural Crops, College of Horticulture and Forestry Sciences, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityAbstract Background There is a Chinese proverb that good tea comes from high mountains with clouds and mists, suggesting the important impact of environmental factors on the development and secondary metabolism in tea plants. However, the epigenetic mechanism involved is still unclear. Results High altitude results in light enhancement with a higher retention of short-wavelength light in cloudy conditions, suggesting the key role of short-wavelength light in the quality formation of tea plants. Thus, we focus on the representative short-wavelength light, blue and UV-A, and characterize plant responses in epigenome, transcriptome, leaf development, and metabolome. We profile six histone modifications under different light wavelengths and link these to leaf development and secondary metabolism, including changes in gene expression during flavonoid, theanine, caffeine, and β-carotene biosynthesis. There is higher stomatal density and thicker mesophyll tissues under blue light, with higher levels of chlorophyll components under UV-A light. The epigenome results in differential changes of stomatal density and quality components in different light conditions. We further identify crucial histone modifications in leaf development and secondary metabolism. Functional analyses suggest diverse regulations mediated by cryptochrome and phototropin in light adaptation, and we confirm the important role of CsSDG36-mediated histone H3K4 methylation. Conclusion Our results not only reveal the landscape of histone modifications, transcripts, leaf development, and metabolites from different lights in tea plants, but also provide insight into the roles of photoreceptors and epigenetic mechanisms involved in leaf development and secondary metabolism.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03618-2Camellia sinensisHistone modificationDevelopmentSecondary metabolismLight spectrum
spellingShingle Pu Wang
Hong Zhang
Yongli Yin
Yue Ge
Binrui Chen
Jing Hu
Yu Wang
Dejiang Ni
Fei Guo
Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
Genome Biology
Camellia sinensis
Histone modification
Development
Secondary metabolism
Light spectrum
title Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
title_full Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
title_fullStr Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
title_full_unstemmed Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
title_short Differential epigenetic regulation by blue and UV-A light reveals the key role of CsSDG36-mediated H3K4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in Camellia sinensis
title_sort differential epigenetic regulation by blue and uv a light reveals the key role of cssdg36 mediated h3k4 methylation in leaf development and secondary metabolism in camellia sinensis
topic Camellia sinensis
Histone modification
Development
Secondary metabolism
Light spectrum
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-025-03618-2
work_keys_str_mv AT puwang differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT hongzhang differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT yongliyin differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT yuege differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT binruichen differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT jinghu differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT yuwang differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT dejiangni differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis
AT feiguo differentialepigeneticregulationbyblueanduvalightrevealsthekeyroleofcssdg36mediatedh3k4methylationinleafdevelopmentandsecondarymetabolismincamelliasinensis