Morphological and Genetic Characterization of Caffeine-Rich and -Poor Tea Tree (Camellia sinensis L.) Lines

Abstract

In this study, 160 tea tree (Camellia sinensis L.) lines were classified by caffeine content using colorimetric methods. Among them, caffeine-rich lines (HR-78, HR-137, HR-82 and HR-123) and poor lines (HP-85, HP-88, HP-19, and HP-131) were selected. To know the difference in morphological and genetic characters between caffeine-rich and poor lines, we used leaf/shoot growth and RAPD methods. Cluster pattern of morphological characters (leaf width, leaf length, leaf area and shoot length) showed that shoot length was longer in caffein-rich lines than in -poor lines. In genetic analysis, amplified DNA bands having various sizes were detected in RAPD analysis where 30 random primers were used. However, the discriminated primer set that distinguish caffein-rich tree line from -poor lines was not found. These results can be used as the basic data to determine the morphological and genetic differences among caffein-rich and -poor lines