Ethylene treatment promotes umami taste-active amino acids accumulation of Torreya grandis nuts post-harvest by comparative chemical and transcript analyses

•The composition of amino acids is important for Torreya grandis nuts quality.•Ethylene induced amino acid contents in Torreya grandis nuts after harvest.•PCA revealed that umami amino acids were distinctly separated with ethylene treatment.•KEGG analysis indicated that alanine aspartate and glutamate metabolism were enriched.•RT-qPCR confirmed that ethylene regulated gene expression of Glu and Asp metabolism.