Abstract
Cold stress has always been a significant limitation for plant development and causes substantial decreases in crop yield. Some temperate plants, such as Arabidopsis, have the ability to carry out internal adjustment, which maintains and checks the metabolic machinery during cold temperatures. This cold acclimation process requires prior exposure to low, chilling temperatures to prevent damage during subsequent freezing stress and maintain the overall wellbeing of the plant despite the low-temperature conditions. In comparison, plants of tropical and subtropical origins, such as rice, are sensitive to chilling stress and respond differently to low-temperature stress. Plants have evolved various physiological, biochemical, and molecular mechanisms to sense and respond to low-temperature stress, including membrane modifications and cytoskeletal rearrangement. Moreover, the transient increase in cytosolic calcium level leads to the activation of many calcium-binding proteins and calcium-dependent protein kinases during low-temperature stress. Recently, mitogen-activated protein kinases have been found to regulate low-temperature signaling through ICE1. Besides, epigenetic control plays a crucial role during the cold stress response. This review primarily focuses on low-temperature stress experienced by plants and their strategies to overcome it. We have also reviewed recent progress and previous knowledge for a better understanding of plant cold stress response.
Highlights
Cold stress is among important abiotic stresses that substantially controls the crop production and geographical distribution of many plant species [1,2]
Ectopic expression of Lepidium CBL-interacting protein kinases (CIPKs) gene in N. tabacum resulted in an increased level of proline accumulation, cell membrane stability and cold stress tolerance [76,77]. These findings indicate that the calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs)-CIPK module is a crucial signaling module engaged in cold stress signaling
Further studies will help us to understand the specificity of CBL-CIPK signaling pathway, which could be utilized as a tool in engineering stress hardy plants
Summary
Cold stress is among important abiotic stresses that substantially controls the crop production and geographical distribution of many plant species [1,2]. The cold acclimation mechanism maintains the overall wellbeing of the plant despite the non-conducive low-temperature conditions [11] Perennial plants, such as trees, detect the impending season by sensing changes in photoperiod and temperature throughout the year. Seasonal day length and temperature variation signals trigger transitions from active growth to dormant phases and frost sensitivity to cold hardiness in these plants. This shift is obligatory for woody plants to survive the winter in temperate climates. Under short-day conditions, hardwood trees such as Silver Birch and Populus spp. develop initial provisional freezing tolerance, which increases further upon subsequent exposure to low nonfreezing and freezing temperatures [13–15]. We have summed up primary responses exhibited by the plant during low-temperature stress and included recent findings of plant cold stress research
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