Research in New Phytologist reveals a gene that regulates tea plants' flavor and cold tolerance, providing insights on how to expand the potential for better-tasting tea to be grown in a wider variety of locations.
The study's investigators identified a light-responsive gene, CsBBX19 , that regulates the ratio of key compounds (catechins and theanine) in the leaves of tea plants to control tea quality, and that activates a pathway that confers cold tolerance. Targeting CsBBX19 therefore represents a potential strategy to simultaneously improve stress resilience and flavor quality in tea plants.
"We hope these findings can help us to better understand the formation of tea quality and cold tolerance. More importantly, the study identifies a valuable target for high-quality and high-resistance tea plant breeding,” said corresponding author Enhua Xia, PhD, of Anhui Agricultural University, in China.
URL upon publication: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.71626
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About the Journal
New Phytologist is an international journal publishing outstanding original research in plant science and its applications. Research falls into five sections: Physiology & Development, Environment, Interaction, Evolution, and Transformative Plant Biotechnology. Topics covered range from intracellular processes through to global environmental change. New Phytologist is owned by the New Phytologist Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of plant science.
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New Phytologist
B-BOX DOMAIN PROTEIN 19 shapes tea quality by modulating ratio of catechins and theanine and confers cold tolerance in tea plants
21-Oct-2026