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Scientia Silvae Sinicae ›› 2015, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (7): 116-128.doi: 10.11707/j.1001-7488.20150713

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Research Progress on the Physiological and Molecular Mechanisms of Woody Plants Under Low Temperature Stress

Wu Fengzhang, Wang Hexin, Xu Guohui, Zhang Zichuan   

  1. Modern Agriculture Research Academy of Dalian University Dalian 116622
  • Received:2014-08-30 Revised:2015-03-29 Online:2015-07-25 Published:2015-08-14

Abstract:

Low temperature stress limits the geographical distribution of many wild plant and crops, and reduces their productivity. There are huge differences in survivability of trees to low temperature stress. Chilling sensitive trees from tropics and subtropics are irreversibly damaged at temperature condition higher than freezing point, while those species originated from temperate-zone can withstand extreme freezing conditions. In recent years, the analyses of physiological and biochemical response characteristics, transcriptome, proteome and metabolome of chilling sensitive trees and temperate-zone trees under low temperature stress have been rapidly developed, which from various levels have elucidated the physiological and molecular mechanisms that woody plant regulating low-temperature response and freezing tolerance. These analyses provide important reference for molecular breeding of freezing-tolerant woody plant by using anti-freezing related genes. Under the low temperature stress of 1—10℃, chilling sensitive trees would appear disorders physiological processes in water status, mineral nutrition, photosynthesis, respiration and metabolism, and hence lead to chilling damage, and even death. Calcium signal transduction pathway is the important signal transduction pathway during low temperature response process. ABA is involved in the regulation of plant stress response gene by transcriptional activation of ABA-dependent transcription factor. Regulation of low temperature response transcription can be divided into CBF pathway and non-CBF pathway. CBF regulates the expression processes of downstream target genes: related receptors of plant cell membrane first perceive environmental signal and transmit it to cell nucleus. The signal is perceived and transducted through Ca2+ and MAPK and induces expression of CBF, which will activate the promoter of cold-response gene and trigger cold response mechanism (gene activation), and the transcribed mRNA is translated into various proteins. These gene products participate in physiological processes of changing the composition of membrane, antioxidant enzyme activities, content of osmotic substances, which will improve cold resistance. On the other hand, CBF gene expression is also regulated by some upstream transcriptional factors, including Ca2+ signal way and ICE1-CBF cold response way. Mechanism and metabolic pathway of chilling acclimation in trees are much similar to freezing acclimation in trees, but the latter may be more complicated, because it needs to face extreme and abnormal temperature variance. The antifreeze protein induced by cold during freezing acclimation has strong activity to inhibit ice recrystallization; Dehydrin and LEA protein protect cellular by osmoregulation; Heat shock protein (HSP) regulates protein folding and transportation, and restores activity of modifying enzyme; antioxidant enzyme system scavenges oxygen free radical and hydrogen peroxide; early light-induced protein (ELIP) takes parts in the high light stress acclimation process, which plays important roles for antifreeze mechanism of trees. In the field of tree's freezing tolerance, comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional factor and functional genes shall be emphasized in the future; the development mechanism of freezing tolerance induced by environmental signal such as light, temperature, etc. shall be more thoroughly study; expression mechanism and function of important proteins under low temperature stress shall be explained by combination of proteomics methods and other technology to integrally reveal the surviving mechanism of woody plants under low temperature stress.

Key words: woody plants, low temperature stress, chilling resistance, freezing tolerance, low temperature acclimation

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