Comparative transcriptome of tea plants, Camellia sinensis, related to drought tolerance

The study focuses on investigating transcriptomic changes in response to drought stress of four genetically related tea cultivars, Camellia sinensis, including Chin-Shin Oolong and TTES No. 12 (parents), TTES No. 19 and TTES No. 22 (hybrids). Among these cultivars, TTES No. 12 and TTES No. 22 are considered more drought tolerant than Chin-Shin Oolong and TTES No. 19. The goals of this study are to identify key differentially expressed genes and biological pathways associated with drought tolerance as well as characterized informative variations which are potential molecular markers for future tea breeding programs and crop improvement.