Gene expression in tea leaves under spring cold stress across severity grades

This project investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying the differential responses of tea plant (Camellia sinensis) new shoots to the same spring cold stress. We collected leaf samples exhibiting four distinct levels of chilling injury (from mild to severe) from the same tea garden. Using RNA-Seq, we characterized the dynamic transcriptome changes associated with increasing damage severity. The data aims to identify key genes and regulatory pathways involved in tea plant's cold tolerance, providing valuable resources for understanding the gradient adaptation mechanism to low-temperature stress and for future breeding of cold-resistant tea cultivars.