A Novel F3′5′H Allele with 14 bp Deletion Is Associated with High Catechin Index Trait of Wild Tea Plants and Has Potential Use in Enhancing Tea Quality

Catechins are important chemical components determining the quality of tea. The catechin index (CI, ratio of dihydroxylated catechin (DIC)/trihydroxylated catechin (TRIC)) in the green leaf has a major influence on the amounts of theaflavins in black tea. In this work, the major catechin profiles of wild tea plants originating from Guizhou Province with high CI trait were investigated. We identified a novel flavonoid 3',5' hydroxylase gene ( F3' 5' H) allele with a 14 bp deletion in the upstream regulation region and developed an insertion/deletion (InDel) marker accordingly. The 14 bp deletion in the novel F3' 5' H allele was associated with low F3' 5' H mRNA expression, thereby resulting in low TRIC content and high CI value. The allelic variant in the novel F3' 5' H allele associated with high CI values and DIC contents was confirmed by the introgression lines derived from a distant cross population. The novel F3' 5' H allele in wild tea plants is a valuable gene resource, which could be applied to breeding improvement on tea quality.