ARS | Publication request: Global Expression of Cold-Responsive Genes in Fruit Trees

Submitted to: Plant Cold Hardiness: From the Laboratory to the Field
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: July 18, 2008
Publication Date: July 1, 2009
Citation: Bassett, C.L., Wisniewski, M.E. 2009. Global Expression of Cold-Responsive Genes in Fruit Trees. pp 72-79. Plant Cold Hardiness: From the Laboratory to the Field. eds. Gusta, L., Wisniewski, M., and Tanino, K. CABI, Oxfordshire, UK 317pp.

Technical Abstract: Annual plants in temperate zones survive low temperature extremes in the form of seeds that over-winter. Perennial plants, like trees, must adapt their physiology and biochemistry to survive winters. How do fruit trees adapt to low temperatures? Research has shown that fruit trees alter the expression of certain genes in response to cold exposure. This chapter compares the simultaneous expression of numerous cold responsive genes in a variety of fruit trees. The results indicate that, although in most cases different genes respond to cold in different fruit trees, there is considerable overlap among the species compared. This information indicates that altering the patterns of expression in one type of fruit tree to aid in surviving cold could be applied to other fruit trees as well.