CsSAD: a fatty acid desaturase gene involved in abiotic resistance in Camellia sinensis (L.).

Tea (Camellia sinensis L.) is a thermophilic evergreen woody plant that has poor cold tolerance. The SAD gene plays a key role in regulating fatty acid synthesis and membrane lipid fluidity in response to temperature change. In this study, full-length SAD cDNA was cloned from tea leaves using rapid amplification of cDNA ends and polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based methods. Sequence analysis demonstrated that CsSAD had a high similarity to other corresponding cDNAs. At 25°C, the CsSAD transcriptional level was highest in the leaf and lowest in the stem, but there was no obvious difference between the root and stem organs. CsSAD expression was investigated by reverse transcription-PCR, which showed that CsSAD was upregulated at 4° and -5°C. At 25°C, CsSAD was induced by polyethylene glycol, abscisic acid, and wounding, and a similar trend was observed at 4°C, but the mean expression level at 4°C was lower than that at 25°C. Under natural cold acclimation, the 'CsCr05' variety's CsSAD expression level increased before decreasing. The CsSAD expression level in variety 'CsCr06' showed no obvious change at first, but rapidly increased to a maximum when the temperature was very low. Our study demonstrates that CsSAD is upregulated in response to different abiotic conditions, and that it is important to study the stress resistance of the tea plant, particularly in response to low temperature, drought, and wounding.