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REVIEW article

Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1443317
This article is part of the Research Topic Genetic and Physiological Responses of Cereal Crops to Climate Change Induced Abiotic Stresses View all 5 articles

Understanding cold stress response mechanisms in plants: An overview

Provisionally accepted
Zhen-Feng Qian Zhen-Feng Qian Li-Lian He Li-Lian He Fusheng Li Fusheng Li *
  • Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Low-temperature stress significantly impacts plant growth, development, yield, and geographical distribution. However, during the long-term process of evolution, plants have evolved complicated mechanisms to resist low-temperature stress. The cold tolerance trait is regulated by multiple pathways, such as the Ca 2+ signalling cascade, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, inducer of CBF expression 1 (ICE1)-C-repeat binding factor (CBF)-cold-reulated gene (COR) transcriptional cascade, reactive oxygen species (ROS) homeostasis regulation, and plant hormone signalling. However, the specific responses of these pathways to cold stress and their interactions are not fully understood. This review summarizes the response mechanisms of plants to cold stress from four aspects, including cold signal perception and transduction, ICE1-CBF-COR transcription cascade regulation, ROS homeostasis regulation and plant hormone signal regulation. It also elucidates the mechanism of cold stress perception and Ca 2+ signal transduction in plants, and proposes the important roles of transcription factors (TFs), post-translational modifications (PTMs), light signals, circadian clock factors, and interaction proteins in the ICE1-CBF-COR transcription cascade. Additionally, we analyze the importance of ROS homeostasis and plant hormone signalling pathways in plant cold stress response, and explore the cross interconnections among the ICE1-CBF-COR cascade, ROS homeostasis, and plant hormone signalling. This comprehensive review enhances our understanding of the mechanism of plant cold tolerance and provides a molecular basis for genetic strategies to improve plant cold tolerance.

    Keywords: cold stress, cold signal perception and transduction, ICE1-CBF-COR transcription cascade, ROS homeostasis, plant hormone signal

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 09 Oct 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Qian, He and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Fusheng Li, Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.