Proteomic analysis of young leaves at three developmental stages in an albino tea cultivar

Background White leaf No.1 is a typical albino tea cultivar grown in China and it has received increased attention in recent years due to the fact that white leaves containing a high level of amino acids, which are very important components affecting the quality of tea drink. According to the color of its leaves, the development of this tea cultivar is divided into three stages: the pre-albinistic stage, the albinistic stage and the regreening stage. To understand the intricate mechanism of periodic albinism, a comparative proteomic approach based on two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry was adopted first time to identify proteins that changed in abundance during the three developmental periods.