Signaling and protection systems in the adaptation of plants to cold

Abstract

Global climate change increases the urgency of the problem of plant resistance to stress temperatures. Due to temperature instability in winter, as well as the earlier onset of meteorological spring with frosts, the likelihood of low-temperature damage to plants increases. Adaptive strategies of the different plant species have their own specific features. The review uses mainly the examples of cultivated plants to analyze current understanding of the mechanisms of cold stress signal perception and transmission to genetic apparatus. Emphasis is placed on the participation of new signal mediators (gasotransmitters) – nitrogen oxide and hydrogen sulfide – in the formation of plant defense reactions under hypothermia. Data on the role of antioxidant and osmoprotective systems as well as specific proteins in plant adaptation to cold are summarized. The issues of functional interaction between the components of stress-protective systems during cold adaptation are discussed. The opportunities are outlined for practical use of gasotransmitter donors as agents for plant priming in order to increase their resistance to hypothermia. The possibilities of using indicators of the state of stress-protective systems to search for donors of resistance are also critically analyzed.

Keywords

• cold resistance
• frost resistance
• signal reception and transduction
• adaptation
• stress-protective systems