Authors:

Audrey Couturier

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About Paper:

Adaptations to seasonality are important across temperate zones and are likely to be disrupted by climate change. Cold acclimation is one adaption that allows plants to survive winter freezing temperatures. When exposed to cooler autumn temperatures, plants change gene expression and metabolism, producing various soluble sugars and other compounds to protect cell components from freezing temperatures. Previous studies have suggested that soluble sugars play a role in freezing tolerance by osmoregulation, photosystem II protection, and by decreasing cellular freezing points. Since cold acclimation pathways are induced rather than constitutive, they are thought to be energetically costly. Allocating resources to synthesize soluble sugars during cold acclimation may lead to lower fitness in cool but non-freezing temperatures because carbon used in this synthesis cannot be used for other carbohydrates important for growth, storage, or reproductive processes. To investigate the accumulation of soluble sugars during cold acclimation, we quantified soluble sugar production using Megazyme assay kits. Tissue was collected, and soluble sugars were quantified before and after a period of cold acclimation, where plants were grown under short days at 4°C. We discuss our results in the context of the costs of cold acclimation and the potential consequences for climate change.

Source:

Purdue University / 2023

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Co-authors:

Audrey Couturier