Identification of CsWRKY19 Involving Cold Tolerance of Tea Plants

Objective CsWRKY19 in Camellia sinensis was cloned to study its relationship with the adaptation and survival of the normally cold sensitive plant exposed to low temperatures.

Method Based upon previously identified WRKY family in tea plants, CsWRKY19 showing significant upregulation by low temperatures was screened and cloned. Sequence and expressions of the gene in different tissues under cold stress were determined. By suppressing the expression, the ability of a tea plant to tolerate low temperatures was examined for verification.

Result CsWRKY19 had a full CDS of 1,680 bp encoding 559 amino acids and containing 2 typical WRKYGQK conserved motifs. The tissue-specific expression of the gene was relatively high in the buds, young leaves, and roots of a plant. Exposing the plant to low temperatures significantly upregulated the gene expression, and if the expression was suppressed at the same time, worse damage on the leaves resulted. Meanwhile, as the surrounding temperature was lowered, the malondialdehyde content rose significantly and the superoxide dismutase activity declined in the plant.

Conclusion The transcription factor of WRKY19 in tea plant was identified as CsWRKY19, which appeared to be significantly associated with the response of a tea plant to cold stress.