Transcriptional Regulation of Cold Stress Tolerance in Plants. Present Status and Future Prospects

Abstract

Plants are often subjected to a broad range of environmental stresses such as drought, cold, salinity, heat, heavy metals, and other abiotic stresses. These stresses critically influence plant growth, development, and productivity. Among various abiotic stresses, cold (chilling or low temperature) is one of the major hindrances to crop productivity. In response to cold stress, plants have evolved various types of mechanisms that involve altered physiological, biochemical, and molecular processes to deal with cold stress. Advances in the fields of genetics and molecular biology have led to the development of various tools for the analysis of molecular networks involved in a certain trait. Nowadays, the advent of “OMICS” technology has been widely applied to understand the complex genetic nature of cold stress tolerance in plants. Being a complex trait, cold stress in plants is governed by more than one gene, including transcription factors that facilitate plants' survival in adverse conditions. In this review, we emphasize on the current understanding of molecular mechanisms for cold stress adaptation in plants. The roles of various transcription factors in plant adaptation and how they can be utilized for crop improvement are also discussed.