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, pla...

The effect of short- and long-term cold treatment on the abscisic acid (ABA) and cytokinin (CK) metabolism, and their main biosynthesis- and signaling-related genes were investigated in freezing-sensitive and freezing-tolerant wheat genotypes. Varieties Cheyenne and Chinese Spring substituted with the 5A Cheyenne chromosome, which represented freezing-tolerant genotypes, were compared with the ...

Certain plants increase their freezing tolerance in response to low nonfreezing temperatures, an adaptive process named cold acclimation. Light has been shown to be required for full cold acclimation, although how light and cold signals integrate and cross-talk to enhance freezing tolerance still remains poorly understood. Here, we show that HY5 levels are regulated by low temperature transcrip...

Across the world, many ice active bacteria utilize ice crystal controlling proteins for aid in freezing tolerance at subzero temperatures. Ice crystal controlling proteins include both antifreeze and ice nucleation proteins. Antifreeze proteins minimize freezing damage by inhibiting growth of large ice crystals, while ice nucleation proteins induce formation of embryonic ice crystals. Although ...

Many biological organisms with exceptional freezing tolerance can resist the damages to cells from extra-/intracellular ice crystals and thus maintain their mechanical stability at subzero temperatures. Inspired by the freezing tolerance mechanisms found in nature, here we report a strategy of combining hydrophilic/oleophilic heteronetworks to produce self-adaptive, freeze-tolerant and mechanic...

Winter survial during an annual cycle of temperateand boreal-zone woody perennials is a multicomponent response. Two of these components are: (1) the timing, rate, and extent of cold acclimation (CA; Box 1), and (2) plants’ ability to sufficiently maintain its freezing tolerance (FT) until the danger of killing frosts is passed which is determined by, among other factors, plants’ ability to res...

Freezing stress affects the geographic distribution, growth, and development of potato, resulting in yield loss. Solanum malmeanum, a diploid wild species with strong freezing tolerance, was fused sensitive dihaploid S. tuberosum by somatic hybridization. In our study, 980 calli were obtained, 248 differentiated shoots obtained from calli. Parental-specific SSR markers used to analyse chromosom...

A single transcription factor can trigger induction of the freezing-tolerant state in Arabidopsis. Is such a factor all that is lacking in non-hardy plants?

1. When free of surface water in air or liquid paraffin, the antarctic nematode Panagrolaimus davidi is freezing intolerant but avoids freezing by supercooling. 2. Survival of long-term exposure is enhanced by sub-zero temperatures compared with controls maintained at 99% relative humidity and 15 °C. 3. In water the nematodes are seeded by exogenous ice nucleation and a proportion are freezing ...