Low temperature represents, together with drought and salt stress, one of the most important environmental constraints limiting the pro ductivity and the distribution of plants on the Earth. Winter survival, in particular, is a highly complex phenomenon, with regards to both stress factors and stress responses. The danger from winter cold is the result not only of its primary effect, i. e. the formation of ice in plant tissues; additional threats are presented by the freezing of water in and on the ground and by the load and duration ofthe snow cover. In recent years, a number of books and reviews on the subject of chilling and frost resistance in plants have appeared: all of these publications, however, concentrate principally on the mechanisms of injury and resistance to freezing at the cellular or molecular level. We are convinced that analysis of the ultrastructural and biochemical alterations in the cell and particularly in the plasma membrane during freezing is the key to understanding the limits of frost resistance and the mechanisms of cold acclimation. This is undoubtedly the immediate task facing those of us engaged in resistance research. It is nevertheless our opinion that, in addition to understanding the basic physiological events, we should be careful not to overlook the importance of the comparative aspects of the freezing processes, the components of stress avoidance and tolerance and the specific levels of resistance.
An analysis of the ultrastructural and biochemical alterations in the cell and plasma membrane during the freezing of plants. Organized to include both the cellular and the comparative aspects of freezing stress and plant survival, the book covers ecophysiological research from the biochemical to the ecological viewpoint.
Conifer Cold Hardiness provides an up-to-date synthesis by leading scientists in the study of the major physiological and environmental factors regulating cold hardiness of conifer tree species. This state-of-the-art reference comprehensively explains current understanding of conifer cold hardiness ranging from the gene to the globe and from the highly applied to the very basic. Topics addressed encompass cold hardiness from the perspectives of ecology, ecophysiology, acclimation and deacclimation, seedling production and reforestation, the impacts of biotic and abiotic factors, and methods for studying and analyzing cold hardiness. The content is relevant to geneticists, ecologists, stress physiologists, environmental and global change scientists, pathologists, advanced nursery and silvicultural practitioners, and graduate students involved in plant biology, plant physiology, horticulture and forestry with an interest in cold hardiness.
Advances in Plant Cold Hardiness provides a detailed, up-to-date discussion of plant cold hardiness research. The molecular mechanisms of plant cold hardiness development, a subject not covered in any other low temperature stress book, is examined in depth. Other major topics addressed include the freezing tolerance and injury of plant tissues in vivo and in vitro, in addition to how research findings impact agricultural applications. The articles featured in Advances in Plant Cold Hardiness were presented as key papers at the 4th International Plant Cold Hardiness Seminar held at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala in July, 1991. The book will appeal to all researchers, students, and instructors in plant biology, agriculture, and forestry.
The economic costs of frosts in agriculture and horticulture in many parts of the world can be very significant. Reports in the media include accounts on how frosts have devastated coffee crops in Brazil or in Papua New Guinea, and how frosts have seriously damaged the Florida citrus industry. Frost may cause losses in current harvests or a decline in future yields through more permanent damage to trees and bushes. Damaging frosts may occur as infrequent, short-term events with sub-zero temperatures or with unusually severe winter temperatures which extend over long periods. In this book we have aimed at providing a comprehensive review of recent advances in the area of frost research. The stimulus for writing this book has come from the recognition that there is a shortage of recent texts which deal exclusively with the bioclimatology of frost. Bioclimatology deals with the relations between climate and life and the present text is particularly concerned with the effects of low temperatures on plants. Our purpose has been to assist researchers, engineers, extension officers and students in understanding the physical aspects of frost occurrence and frost distribution as well as the biological and phenological aspects of frost damage and to provide an overview of direct and indirect methods of frost pro tection and prevention.
Representing the latest knowledge of the ecology and the physiology of cold-adapted microorganisms, plants and animals, this book explains the mechanisms of cold-adaptation on the enzymatic and molecular level, including results from the first crystal structures of enzymes of cold-adapted organisms.
This book comprehensively describes biological phenomena, adaptation mechanisms, and strategies of living organisms to survive under extremely cold or desiccated conditions at molecular, cellular, and organ levels. It also provides tremendous potential for applications of the findings to a wide variety of industries. The volume consists of three parts: Part 1, Adaptation Mechanisms of Cold, and Part 2, Adaptation Mechanisms of Desiccation, collect up-to-date research on mechanisms and strategies of living organisms such as sleeping chironomids, polar marine fishes, hibernating mammals, bryophytes, dormant seeds, and boreal plants to survive under extreme cold and desiccated conditions at molecular, cellular, and organ levels. Part 3, Application Technologies from Laboratory to Society, covers various applications to a wide variety of industries such as the medical, food, and agricultural and life science industries. For example, biological knowledge of how plants and animals survive under cold, drought, and desiccated conditions may provide a hint on how we can improve crop production in a very fragile environment in global climate change. Unique molecules that protect cells during desiccation and freezing such as trehalose and antifreeze protein (AFP) have potential for use to preserve cells, tissues, and organs for the long term under very stable conditions. In addition, the current progress of supercooling technology of cells may lead us to solve problems of cellular high sensitivity to freezing injury, which will dramatically improve the usability of these cells. Furthermore, knowledge of water substitution and glass formation as major mechanisms for formulation designs and new drying technologies will contribute to the development of food preservation and drug delivery systems under dry conditions. Written by contributors who have been conducting cutting-edge science in related fields, this title is recommended to a wide variety of readers who are interested in learning from such organisms their strategies, mechanisms, and applications, and it will inspire researchers in various disciplines.
Presenting the latest research on the effects of cold and sub-zero temperatures on plant distribution, growth and yield, this comprehensive volume contains 28 chapters by international experts covering basic molecular science to broad ecological studies on the impact of global warming, and an industry perspective on transgenic approaches to abiotic stress tolerance. With a focus on integrating molecular studies in the laboratory with field research and physiological studies of whole plants in their natural environments, this book covers plant physiology, production, development, agronomy, ecology, breeding and genetics, and their applications in agriculture and horticulture. Global Analysis of Gene Networks to Solve Complex Abiotic Stress responses, K Shinozaki, RIKEN Tsukuba Institute, Japan and K Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences, Japan, The CBF Cold Response Pathways of Arabidopsis and Tomato, J T Vogel, Michigan State University, USA, D Cook, Mississippi State University, USA, S G Fowler and M F Thomashow, Michigan State University, USA, Barley Contains a Large CBF Gene Family Associated with Quantitative Cold Tolerance Traits, J S Skinner, J von Zitzewitz, L Marquez-Cedillo, T Filichkin, Oregon State University, USA, P Szucs, Agricultural Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary, K Amundsen, Michigan State University, USA, E Stockinger, Ohio State University, USA, M F Thomashow, Michigan State University, USA, T H H Chen, and P M Hayes, Oregon State University, USA, Structural Organization of Barley CBF Genes Coincident with QTLS for Cold Hardiness , E J Stockinger, H Cheng, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China and J Skinner, The genetic basis of vernalization response in barley, L L D Cooper, Oregon State University, USA, J von Zitzewitz, J S Skinner, P Szucs, I Karsai, Agriculturtal Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary, E Francia, A M Stanca, Experimental Institute for Cereal Resources, Italy, N Pecchioni, Universita di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Italy, D A Laurie, John Innes Research Centre, UK, T H H Chen, and P M Hayes, Vernalization Genes in Winter Cereals, N A Kane, J Danyluk, and F Sarhan, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canada, A Bulk Segregant Approach to Identify Genetic Polymorphisms Associated with Cold Tolerance in Alfalfa, Y Castonguay, J Cloutier, S Laberge, A Bertrand and R Michaud, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada, Ectopic Over-expression of AtCBF1 in Potato Enhances Freezing Tolerance, M T Pino, J S Skinner, Z Jeknic, E J Park, Oregon State University, USA, P M Hayes, and T H H Chen, Over-expression of a Heat-inducible apx Gene Confers Chilling Tolerance to Rice Plants, Y Sato, National Agricultural Research Center for Hokkaido Region, Japan, and H Saruyama, Hokkaido Green-Bio Institute, Japan Physiological and Morphological Alterations Associated with Development of Freezing Tolerance in The Moss Physcomitrella patens, A Minami, M Nagao, Iwate University, Japan, K Arakawa, S Fujikawa, Hokkaido University and D Takezawa, Saitama University, Japan, Control of Growth and Cold Acclimation in Silver Birch, M K Aalto and E T Palva, Viikki Biocenter, Finland, The Role of the CBF-Dependent Signalling Pathway in Woody Perennials, C Benedict, Umea University, Sweden, J S Skinner, R Meng, Y Chang, Oregon State University, USA, R Bhalerao, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, C Finn, USDA-ARS, USA, T H H Chen, V Hurry, Umea University, Sweden, Functional Role of Winter-accumulating Proteins from Mulberry Tree in adaptation to Winter-induced Stresses, S Fujikawa, N Ukaji, Hokkaido University, Japan, M Nagao, K Yamane, Hokkaido University, Japan, D Takezawa, and K Arakawa, The Role of Compatible Solutes in Plant Freezing Tolerance: A Case Study on Raffinose, D K Hincha, E Zuther, M Hundertmark, A G Heyer, Max-Planck-Institut fur Molekulare Pflanzenphysiologie, Germany, Dehydration in model membranes and protoplasts: contrasting effects at low, intermediate and high hydrations, K L Koster, University of South Dakota,USA, and G Bryant, RMIT University, Australia, Effect of Plasma Membrane-associated Proteins on Acquisition of Freezing Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana, Y Tominaga, Universite du Quebec a Montreal, Canada, C Nakagawara, Y Kawamura and M Uemura, Iwate University, Japan
