Cold Signaling and Cold Response in Plants.docVIP

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 5312-5337; doi:10.3390/ijmOPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 /journal/ijms Review Cold Signaling and Cold Response in Plants 1, Kenji Miura * and Tsuyoshi Furumoto 2 1 Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba 305-8572, Japan Department of Agriculture, Ryukoku University, Kyoto 610-8577, Japan; E-Mail: tfurumoto@agr.ryukoku.ac.jp 2 * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: kmiura@gene.tsukuba.ac.jp; Tel./Fax: +81-29-853-6401. Received: 31 January 2013; in revised form: 26 February 2013 / Accepted: 26 February 2013 / Published: 6 March 2013 Abstract: Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of environmental stresses. Freezing or extremely low temperature constitutes a key factor influencing plant growth, development and crop productivity. Plants have evolved a mechanism to enhance tolerance to freezing during exposure to periods of low, but non-freezing temperatures. This phenomenon is called cold acclimation. During cold acclimation, plants develop several mechanisms to minimize potential damages caused by low temperature. Cold response is highly complex process that involves an array of physiological and biochemical modifications. Furthermore, alterations of the expression patterns of many genes, proteins and metabolites in response to cold stress have been reported. Recent studies demonstrate that post-transcriptional and post-translational regulations play a role in the regulation of cold signaling. In this review article, recent advances in cold stress signaling and tolerance are highlighted. Keywords: cold signaling; cold tolerance; ICE1; CBF/DREB1; cold-regulated genes 1. Introduction Only one-third of the total land area on Earth is free of ice and 42% of land experiences temperatures below ?20 °C [1]. In such areas, plants require specialized mechanisms to survive exposure to low temp