Summary Numerous herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) play important roles in plant defense. In tea plants (Camellia sinensis), (Z)‐3‐hexenyl acetate (3‐HAC) has been characterized as associated with resistance to herbivores. To date, how tea plants biosynthesize and regulate 3‐HAC to resist herbivores remain unclear. Based on transcriptomes assembled from Ectropis obliqua‐fed leaves, a cDNA encoding BAHD acyltransferase, namely CsCHAT1, was highly induced in leaves fed with E. obliqua. Enzymatic assays showed that CsCHAT1 converted (Z)‐3‐hexenol into 3‐HAC. Further suppression of CsCHAT1 expression reduced the accumulation of 3‐HAC and lowered the resistance of tea plants to E. obliqua, while 3‐HAC replenishment rescued the reduced resistance of CsCHAT1‐silenced tea plants against E. obliqua. Two transcription factors (TFs), CsNAC30 and CsTCP11, were co‐expressed with CsCHAT1. An integrative approach of biochemistry, DNA–protein interaction, gene silencing, and metabolic profiling revealed that the two TFs positively regulated the expression of CsCHAT1. The suppression of either one decreased the production of 3‐HAC and eliminated the resistance of tea plants to E. obliqua. Notably, the suppression of either one considerably impaired JA‐induced 3‐HAC biosynthesis in tea plant. The proposed pathway can be targeted for innovative agro‐biotechnologies protecting tea plants from damage by E. obliqua.

中文翻译：

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来自 NAC 和 TCP 转录因子的防御途径激活 （Z）-3-乙酸己烯酯生物合成的 BAHD 酰基转移酶，以抵抗茶树（Camellia sinensis）中的食草动物


摘要 许多食草动物诱导的植物挥发物 （HIPV） 在植物防御中起着重要作用。在茶树 （Camellia sinensis） 中，（Z）-3-乙酸己烯酯 （3-HAC） 已被表征为与对食草动物的抗性有关。迄今为止，茶树如何生物合成和调节 3-HAC 以抵抗食草动物仍不清楚。基于从 Ectropis obliqua 喂养的叶子组装的转录组，编码 BAHD 酰基转移酶的 cDNA，即 CsCHAT1，在以 E. obliqua 喂养的叶子中被高度诱导。酶测定显示 CsCHAT1 将 （Z）-3-己烯醇转化为 3-HAC。进一步抑制 CsCHAT1 表达减少了 3-HAC 的积累并降低了茶树对 E. obliqua 的抗性，而 3-HAC 补充挽救了 CsCHAT1 沉默的茶树对 E. obliqua 的抗性降低。两种转录因子 （TFs） CsNAC30 和 CsTCP11 与 CsCHAT1 共表达。生物化学、 DNA-蛋白质相互作用、基因沉默和代谢谱分析的综合方法显示，这两个 TFs 正向调节 CsCHAT1 的表达。抑制任何一种都会减少 3-HAC 的产生并消除茶树对 E. obliqua 的抗性。值得注意的是，其中任何一种的抑制都大大损害了 JA 诱导的茶树中 3-HAC 生物合成。拟议的途径可以针对创新的农业生物技术，保护茶树免受 E. obliqua 的损害。