Objective  Proteins related to the response of Duyun Maojian native tea plant infested by Empoasca vitis were studied.

Method Leaves of Duyun Maojian native tea plant were artificially infested by E. vitis Göthe for 0, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h. Tandem mass tag combined with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was applied to detect the proteins generated in the leaves by the infestation.

Results  The chemical analysis identified 2,893 proteins that included 0, 1, 848, and 849 differential expression proteins (DEPs) in the leaf specimens sampled at the time periods that lasted from 0h to 12, 24, 36, and 48 h, respectively. Of the 2,622 annotated proteins, 2,360 were explained to the GO database and 1,232 to the KEGG database. The GO and KEGG analyses indicated that the tea plants might be resistant to E. vitis infestation through the enzymes, such as CMK, FPPS, GPPS, GGPPS, peroxidase, pectinesterase, and allene-oxide cyclase, the biosynthesis of sesquiterpenoid, triterpeoid, monoterpenoid, and diterpenoid, and/or the biosynthesis pathways of sesquiterpenoid, triterpenoid, terpenoid backbone, and monoterpenoid.

Conclusion Four DEPs, i.e., CMK, FPPS, GPPS, and GGPPS, and terpenoids might play important roles in the response and defense of the tea plant against E. vitis Göthe.