Dehydration-Induced Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 1 Reveals a Novel Route for β-Ionone Formation during Tea (Camellia sinensis) Withering

β-Ionone is a carotenoid-derived flavor and fragrance compound with a complex fruity and woody scent, known for its violet aroma. Due to the low odor threshold, β-ionone dramatically affects the aroma and quality of tea. Previous studies have shown that β-ionone increases during tea withering; however, its formation and regulation during the withering process are far from being understood. As dehydration is the most important stress during the withering of the tea leaves, we isolated a dehydration-induced gene belonging to the subfamily of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases called carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase 1a (CsCCD1a) from Camellia sinensis and expressed it in Escherichia coli. The recombinant protein could generate volatile β-ionone and pseudoionone from carotenoids. CsCCD1a was induced by dehydration stress, and its expression was related to the β-ionone accumulation during tea withering. Overall, this study elucidated that CsCCD1a catalyzes the formation of β-ionone in C. sinensis and enhanced the understanding of the β-ionone formation under multiple stresses during the processing of tea.