Metabolite formation is a biochemical and physiological feature of plants developed as an environmental response during the evolutionary process. These metabolites help defend plants against environmental stresses, but are also important quality components in crops. Utilizing the stress response to improve natural quality components in plants has attracted increasing research interest. Tea, which is processed by the tender shoots or leaves of tea plant (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze), is the second most popular beverage worldwide after water. Aroma is an important factor affecting tea character and quality. The defense responses of tea leaves against various stresses during preharvest (tea growth process) and postharvest (tea manufacturing) processing can result in aroma formation. Herein, we summarize recent investigations into the biosyntheses of several characteristic aroma compounds prevalent in teas and derived from volatile fatty acid derivatives, terpenes, and phenylpropanoids/benzenoids. Several key aroma synthetic genes from tea leaves have been isolated, cloned, sequenced, and functionally characterized. Biotic stress (such as tea green leafhopper attack) and abiotic stress (such as light, temperature, and wounding) could enhance the expression of aroma synthetic genes, resulting in the abundant accumulation of characteristic aroma compounds in tea leaves. Understanding the specific relationships between characteristic aroma compounds and stresses is key to improving tea quality safely and effectively.

Amino acids are the main contributors to tea (Camellia sinensis) flavor and function. Tea leaves contain not only proteinaceous amino acids but also specialized non-proteinaceous amino acids such as L-theanine and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Here, we review different regulatory mechanisms of proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous amino acid formation in tea. The key findings were: (1) High accumulations of proteinaceous amino acids mainly result from protein degradation, which occurs in each tea stage, including preharvest, postharvest, manufacturing, and deep processing; (2) L-Theanine is the most represented non-proteinaceous amino acid that contributes to tea taste and function. Its accumulation is influenced more by the variety than by exogenous factors; and (3) GABA is the second most represented non-proteinaceous amino acid that contributes to tea function. Its formation, and resulting accumulation, are responses to stress. The combination of anoxic stress and mechanical damage are essential for a high GABA accumulation. An understanding of the biosynthesis, metabolism, and regulatory mechanisms of the proteinaceous and non-proteinaceous amino acids during the whole process from raw materials to tea products is necessary to safely and effectively alter tea flavor and function.

Regulation of plant growth and development by light wavelength has been extensively studied. Less attention has been paid to effect of light wavelength on formation of plant metabolites. The objective of this study was to investigate whether formation of volatiles in preharvest and postharvest tea (Camellia sinensis) leaves can be regulated by light wavelength. In the present study, in contrast to the natural light or dark treatment, blue light (470 nm) and red light (660 nm) significantly increased most endogenous volatiles including volatile fatty acid derivatives (VFADs), volatile phenylpropanoids/benzenoids (VPBs) and volatile terpenes (VTs) in the preharvest tea leaves. Furthermore, blue and red lights significantly up-regulated the expression levels of 9/13-lipoxygenases involved in VFADs formation, phenylalanine ammonialyase involved in VPBs formation and terpene synthases involved in VTs formation. Single light wavelength had less remarkable influences on formation of volatiles in the postharvest leaves compared with the preharvest leaves. These results suggest that blue and red lights can be promising technology for remodeling the aroma of preharvest tea leaves. Furthermore, our study provided evidence that light wavelength can activate the expression of key genes involved in formation of plant volatiles for the first time.