Miscanthus × giganteus grown in cool temperate regions of North America and Europe can exhibit severe mortality in the year after planting, and poor frost tolerance of leaves. Spartina pectinata (prairie cordgrass), a productive C4 perennial grass native to North America, has been suggested as an alternative biofuel feedstock for colder regions; however, its cold tolerance relative to M. × giga...

Exposure of seedlings of winter rye (Secale cereale L., cv. Puma) for 2 weeks or 24 hours to desiccation stress (40% relative humidity) at room temperature (21 degrees C) in the dark induced degrees of freezing and drought tolerance in the plumules comparable to those produced by cold conditioning for 2 weeks at 3 degrees C. The induction was associated with repression of growth and could not b...

Solanum commersonii and Solanum tuberosum are closely related plant species that differ in their abilities to cold acclimate; whereas S. commersonii increases in freezing tolerance in response to low temperature, S. tuberosum does not. In Arabidopsis thaliana, cold-regulated genes have been shown to contribute to freezing tolerance, including those that comprise the CBF regulon, genes that are ...

When alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv Apica) plants grown at room temperature are transferred to 2 degrees C, the temperature at which 50% of the plants fail to survive (LT50) decreases from -6 to -14 degrees C during the first 2 weeks but then increases to -9 degrees C during the subsequent 2 weeks. However, when plants are kept for 2 weeks at 2 degrees C and then transferred to -2 degrees C for...

Low temperature adversely affects crop yields by restraining plant growth and productivity. Most temperate plants have the potential to increase their freezing tolerance upon exposure to low but nonfreezing temperatures, a process known as cold acclimation. Various physiological, molecular, and metabolic changes occur during cold acclimation, which suggests that the plant cold stress response i...

Cold acclimation dramatically increases freezing tolerance in many temperate plant species. An understanding of cold acclimation is important for extending adaptation areas of perennial ryegrass. Freezing tolerance is greatly increased in perennial ryegrass cv. 'Caddyshack' after cold acclimation. Genes differentially regulated during cold acclimation were identified by analyzing the abundance ...

When alfalfa (Medicago sativa 1. cv Apica) plants grown at room temperature are transferred to 2'C, the temperature at which 50% of the plants fail to survive (LISo) decreases from -6 to -14'C during the first 2 weeks but then increases to -9'C during the subsequent 2 weeks. However, when plants are kept for 2 weeks at 2°C and then transferred to -2°C for another two weeks, the LTm declines to ...

The ability of entomopathogenic nematodes to tolerate environmental stress such as desiccating or freezing conditions, can contribute significantly to biocontrol efficacy. Thus, in selecting which nematode to use in a particular biocontrol program, it is important to be able to predict which strain or species to use in target areas where environmental stress is expected. Our objectives were to ...

Aquaporin (AQP) water channel proteins play key roles in water movement across cell membranes. Extending previous reports of cryoprotective functions in insects, this study examines roles of AQPs in response to dehydration, rehydration, and freezing, and their distribution in specific tissues of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica (Diptera, Chironomidae). When AQPs were blocked using mercur...

Acquisition of freezing tolerance during the seed development of Pisum sativum L. cv. Akabana was studied in relation to changes in growth, dry matter accumulation, and water content. Seeds were cooled down rapidly by direct plunging into liquid nitrogen, so that below a determined water content, tissues could vitrify with the consequent survival of seeds. The proportion of seeds that were able...