Cold acclimation by the CBF–COR pathway in a changing climate: Lessons from Arabidopsis thaliana

Cold acclimation is a process used by most temperate plants to cope with freezing stress. In this process, the expression of cold-responsive (COR) genes is activated and the genes undergo physiological changes in response to the exposure to low, non-freezing temperatures and other environmental signals. The C-repeat-binding factors (CBFs) have been demonstrated to regulate the expression of many COR genes. Recent studies have elucidated the molecular mechanisms of how plants transmit cold signals from the plasma membrane to the CBFs and the results have indicated that COR genes are also regulated through CBF-independent pathways. Climate change is expected to have a major impact on cold acclimation and freezing tolerance of plants. However, how climate change affects plant cold acclimation at the molecular level remains unclear. This mini-review focuses on recent advances in cold acclimation in Arabidopsis thaliana and discusses how signaling can be potentially impacted by climate change. Understanding how plants acquire cold acclimation is valuable for the improvement of the freezing tolerance in plants and for predicting the effects of climate change on plant distribution and agricultural yield.