Treatments in the pot experiment.

Tea (Camellia sinensis), a widely cultivated crop across more than 50 countries, is highly vulnerable to drought stress, which impairs growth and reduces yield. This study examines the potential of exogenously applied salicylic acid (SA), abscisic acid (ABA), and shikimic acid (ShA) in enhancing drought tolerance in tea plants. Plants were pre-treated with SA, ABA, and ShA for 4 days, followed by 10 days of drought stress during which no water was provided by either foliar spray or soil irrigation. Leaf samples collected on day 15 were analyzed for various physiological and biochemical markers, including antioxidant enzyme activities (POD and GST), reactive oxygen species (H2O2) levels, and contents of total chlorophyll, carotenoids, and proline. Results showed that all treatments mitigated drought-induced physiological damage, reduced oxidative stress, and elevated antioxidant enzyme activity compared to untreated control plants under drought conditions. Treated plants also exhibited higher proline and chlorophyll levels, suggesting improved osmotic regulation and photosynthetic efficiency. Among the treatments, SA demonstrated the most pronounced enhancement of drought tolerance. To clarify the functional roles and relationships of 76 genes found through a literature review associated with the SA and ShA pathways under drought stress were examined using Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment, subcellular localization, and KEGG pathway analysis. These findings indicate that exogenous application of SA, ABA, and ShA enhances drought resilience in tea by strengthening antioxidant defenses and maintaining cellular integrity, presenting a promising approach to sustaining tea production in drought-prone areas. Future studies should explore the potential of combining these inducers with genetic or microbial strategies to further enhance drought resilience in tea plants.茶树（Camellia sinensis）是全球50余个国家广泛种植的经济作物，但其对干旱胁迫极为敏感，干旱会抑制其生长并降低产量。本研究探究了外源施加水杨酸（salicylic acid, SA）、脱落酸（abscisic acid, ABA）以及莽草酸（shikimic acid, ShA）对茶树抗旱性的提升潜力。实验将茶树分别用SA、ABA、ShA预处理4天，随后施以10天的干旱胁迫处理，期间不通过叶面喷施或土壤灌溉供水。于第15天采集叶片样本，对多种生理生化指标进行检测分析，包括抗氧化酶活性（过氧化物酶POD、谷胱甘肽S-转移酶GST）、活性氧（reactive oxygen species, H₂O₂）水平，以及总叶绿素、类胡萝卜素与脯氨酸的含量。结果显示，与干旱胁迫下未处理的对照组植株相比，各试剂处理组均缓解了干旱诱导的生理损伤，降低了氧化应激水平，并提升了抗氧化酶活性。经处理的茶树还表现出更高的脯氨酸与叶绿素含量，提示其渗透调节能力与光合效率得到改善。在三种试剂处理中，SA展现出最为显著的抗旱性提升效果。为解析经文献检索得到的、与干旱胁迫下SA和ShA通路相关的76个基因的功能角色及相互作用关系，本研究采用基因本体（Gene Ontology, GO）富集分析、亚细胞定位分析以及京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）通路分析对其进行了探究。上述研究结果表明，外源施加SA、ABA与ShA可通过强化抗氧化防御系统、维持细胞完整性来提升茶树的干旱胁迫耐受性，为干旱高发区域的茶叶生产可持续性提供了一种极具应用前景的解决方案。未来研究可探索将这些诱导剂与遗传或微生物策略相结合的潜力，以进一步提升茶树的干旱胁迫耐受性。