Browse Articles
Horticulture Research 8,
Article number: 253 (2021)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41438-021-00679-9
Views: 903
Received: 17 Mar 2021
Revised: 19 Jul 2021
Accepted: 17 Aug 2021
Published online: 01 Dec 2021
Tea plants are subjected to multiple stresses during growth, development, and postharvest processing, which affects levels of secondary metabolites in leaves and influences tea functional properties and quality. Most studies on secondary metabolism in tea have focused on gene, protein, and metabolite levels, whereas upstream regulatory mechanisms remain unclear. In this review, we exemplify DNA methylation and histone acetylation, summarize the important regulatory effects that epigenetic modifications have on plant secondary metabolism, and discuss feasible research strategies to elucidate the underlying specific epigenetic mechanisms of secondary metabolism regulation in tea. This information will help researchers investigate the epigenetic regulation of secondary metabolism in tea, providing key epigenetic data that can be used for future tea genetic breeding.