Changes in alkaloids and their related metabolites during the processing of 'Qiancha 1′ white tea based on transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis

The regulatory mechanism underlying alkaloid metabolism during the withering process of’ Qiancha 1’ white tea remains poorly understood. Analyze the changes in metabolites and gene expression during the processing of white tea using metabolomics and transcriptomics. The results showed that a total of 1,542 metabolites and 60,987 genes were identified in the sample. Among them, there are 353 differential metabolites and 12 alkaloids and their related differential metabolites.129 key differentially expressed genes related to alkaloid metabolism were identified, and the expression of most genes exhibited a significant negative correlation with the corresponding alkaloids and their related metabolites content. The study elucidated the alkaloids and their related metabolites metabolism pathway and related differential gene regulation mechanism of ‘Qiancha 1’ white tea during processing, and found that alkaloid metabolites are closely related to amino acid metabolism. This research lays a foundation for understanding the importance of alkaloids and their related metabolite metabolism in the formation of tea flavor. • Metabolomics explores the metabolic changes during the processing of‘Qiancha 1'white tea. • Transcriptomic exploration of gene expression patterns during the withering process of ‘Qiancha 1’ white tea. • Exploring the metabolic pathways of alkaloids and their related metabolites during the processing of white tea using multi omics.