Nitric Oxide as a Mediator of Cold Stress Response: A Transcriptional Point of View
Abstract
Low temperature constitutes a major constraint for plant development and spreading and imprints plant biodiversity. Plant tolerance towards cold is a complex matter that relies on deep metabolic reprogramming principally governed by transcriptomic changes themselves controlled through multiple signalling pathways. A set of recent reports points out nitric oxide (NO) as a key element of signalling networks underlying plant response to low temperature. Based on the identification of several cold-regulated NO-dependent genes, that play key functions during plant response to temperature lowering, NO might sustain major functions during cold stress. This chapter summarizes our current knowledge on NO availability and bioactivity during low-temperature response, with a special emphasis on its implication in the regulation of gene expression.