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Generating Homo- and Heterografts Between Watermelon and Bottle Gourd for the Study of Cold-responsive MicroRNAs
Published on: November 20, 2018
Interplay between cold-responsive gene regulation, metabolism and RNA processing during plant cold acclimation
Jianhua Zhu1, Chun-Hai Dong, Jian-Kang Zhu
1Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, 2150 Batchelor Hall, University of California-Riverside, California 92521, USA.
Current Opinion in Plant Biology
|May 1, 2007
Summary
Temperate plants gain freezing tolerance through cold exposure, involving gene reprogramming and metabolism shifts. Key factors include protein degradation regulating transcription and metabolic signals influencing gene expression for cold adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Plant Biology
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Temperate plants develop freezing tolerance when exposed to low, nonfreezing temperatures.
- Acquired freezing tolerance requires significant reprogramming of gene expression and metabolism.
- Cold stress triggers complex transcriptional networks in plants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying acquired freezing tolerance in temperate plants.
- To identify key regulators of the cold-responsive transcriptome.
- To understand the role of metabolism and RNA processing in cold adaptation.
Main Methods:
- Full-genome transcript profiling.
- Mutational and transgenic plant analyses.
- Genetic analysis of cold tolerance.
Main Results:
- Ubiquitination-mediated protein degradation regulates the transcription factor INDUCER OF CBF EXPRESSION 1 (ICE1), controlling cold-responsive gene expression.
- Cold exposure leads to changes in hundreds of genes and increases in protective metabolites.
- Cellular metabolic signals and RNA processing pathways (splicing, export, unwinding) are crucial for cold-responsive gene expression and tolerance.
Conclusions:
- The study reveals a complex regulatory network involving transcription factors, protein degradation, and metabolic adjustments for freezing tolerance.
- ICE1 regulation via ubiquitination is a critical control point for cold acclimation.
- Metabolic signals and RNA processing are integral to plant adaptation to cold stress.
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