Exogenous hormones alleviate drought stress with the upregulation of heat shock-related genes and enhanced lipid accumulation in tea plants (Camellia sinensis).

Foliar application of indole-3-acetic acid, methyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or abscisic acid reduces drought-stress leaf water loss by 17.90% to 30.61% in Camellia sinensis under 20% PEG-6000.

• Why it matters: Drought stress disrupts tea plant growth and metabolism, and the study addresses how exogenous hormones can regulate drought responses at physiological, gene-expression, and metabolite levels.
• What they did: Tea plants were exposed to drought simulated with 20% PEG-6000, then treated by foliar spraying with IAA, MeJA, SA, or ABA; physiological assays were integrated with transcriptomics and metabolomics to track DEGs and metabolite shifts.
• The result: IAA and SA significantly upregulated CsHsp70 and CsHsp90A, while hormone treatment increased lipids and flavonoids, including enhanced accumulation of 53 lipid metabolites, linked to drought-stress alleviation and improved biochemical bases for agronomic strategies.

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