ABSTRACT
Plants continuously interact with various environmental conditions, most of which are stressful. Among these, chilling stress is one of the most important stressors, and leads to disruption in the metabolism of plants. To cope with the negative impact of chilling stress, plants have evolved cold acclimatory mechanisms which make them tolerant to cold to some extent. Plant cell membranes perceive chilling stress by various receptors and subsequently activate an array of modifications leading to the initiation of a number of signaling cascades, such as Ca2+ signaling, CDPKS, MAPK, COR and CRT DREB 1 pathway. Subsequently, these signals turn on various cold-responsive genes and transcription factors and activate ROS scavenging machinery for constitutive cold acclimation. External application of various phytoprotectants, as well as beneficial microbes, have the potential to facilitate these cold-acclimation mechanisms within plant systems and provide them with the ability to survive under freezing conditions.
