Cold signaling in plants: Insights into mechanisms and regulation

• Published in: Journal of integrative plant biology Vol. 60; no. 9; pp. 745 - 756
• Main Authors: Guo, Xiaoyu, Liu, Dongfeng, Chong, Kang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China (Republic : 1949- ) Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.09.2018; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China%Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Physiology, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China
• Subjects: Arabidopsis thaliana; Binding; Calcium; calcium signaling; Calcium signalling; calcium-binding proteins; Cascades; Cold; Cold tolerance; defense mechanisms; Dehydration; enzymes; Freezing; genes; Kinases; Life cycle engineering; Life cycles; Metabolism; Organogenesis; Oryza sativa; Plant growth; plasma membrane; Protein kinase; Protein kinase C; Proteins; Regulatory sequences; rice; Signal transduction; temperature; Temperature perception; Transcription; transcription (genetics); Trehalose
• ISSN: 1672-9072; 1744-7909; 1744-7909
• DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12706

To survive under cold temperatures plants must be able to perceive a cold signal and transduce it into downstream components that induce appropriate defense mechanisms. In addition to inducing adaptive defenses, such as the production of osmotic factors to prevent freezing and the reprogramming of transcriptional pathways, cold temperatures induce changes in plant growth and development which can affect the plant life cycle. In this review, we summarize recent progress in characterizing cold‐related genes and the pathways that allow transduction of the cold signal in plants, focusing primarily on studies in Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa). We summarize cold perception and signal transduction from the plasma membrane to the nucleus, which involves cold sensors, calcium signals, calcium‐binding proteins, mitogen‐activated protein kinase cascades, and the C‐repeat binding factor/dehydration‐responsive element binding pathways, as well as trehalose metabolism. Finally, we describe the balance between plant organogenesis and cold tolerance mechanisms in rice. This review encapsulates the known cold signaling factors in plants and provides perspectives for ongoing cold signaling research. Cold temperature is sensed by plant to modify the patterns of growth and development. Cold signal sensing and transduction are immediately responded at molecular level in plant cells. In this review, we summarize the recent progresses in regard to cold‐related genes and elucidate the cold signal transduction pathways in plants, by primarily focusing on the studies in Arabidopsis thaliana and rice (Oryza sativa).