Transcriptome profiling reveals the effect of disbudding on growth of young tea plants (Camellia sinensis)

The cultivation of young tea plant canopies is a key technique in the overall management of tea plantations. To address the problems of reduced branching and prolonged production cycles commonly observed in young tea plants, we adopted the disbudding technique to examine the impact of this method on young tea plants. The cultivar 'Chuancha No.2 ' was selected as the subject for the experiment. The results demonstrated that disbudding markedly enhanced the growth of the aboveground parts of young tea plants, although it also exerted some inhibitory effects on root development. Transcriptome analysis revealed the presence of 1028 and 3628 DEGs in new shoots and roots, respectively. Enrichment analyses of GO and KEGG terms indicated that the phytohormone signalling pathway was significantly enriched in young tea plants. And transcription factor analyses indicated that genes such as AP2/ERF, NAC, and GRAS may be involved in the response to disbudding treatment. In addition, the study identified 23, 29, 37, 9 and 8 DEGs associated with the biosynthesis, transport and signalling pathways of IAA, GA, BRs, CTK and ABA. This research elucidates the molecular mechanisms underlying young tea plants' response to disbudding, identifies key regulatory genes, and offers valuable insights for accelerating canopy development.