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PubMed2026

Engineering cold stress resilience in capsicum annuum through functional genomics and precision breeding.

This review synthesizes the molecular mechanisms of cold tolerance in pepper, integrating multi-omics data,genome editing, and precision breeding strategies to accelerate the development of cold-resilient cultivars. Cold stress is a significant environmental factor that affects the growth, productivity, and fruit quality of Capsicum annuum by impairing membrane integrity photosynthesis and cellular redox homeostasis. Although pepper has several endogenous cold-responsive regulators such as CaNAC035 and CabHLH035, along with antioxidant defense systems, its cold tolerance remains limited due to low transcriptional activation of key regulators, functional redundancy among cold-responsive genes, and the polygenicity of cold tolerance. These complexities, combined with low genetic diversity and linkage drag, have hindered the improvement of cold-resistant cultivars through conventional breeding. This review brings together the recent progress in understanding the molecular mechanisms of cold stress perception, signal transduction, transcriptional regulation, metabolic reprogramming, and phytohormone interactions in pepper. Precision Breeding 2.0 is a new innovation that combines the integration of multi-omics-based target identification with next-generation genome-editing techniques, allowing precise and multiplex engineering of complex and interconnected regulatory networks instead of single genes. We cover new approaches such as engineering the DREB/CBF pathway, allele-specific editing and targeted disruption of negative regulators to enhance the pathway(s) involved in cold response. Moreover, we propose a roadmap for integration of transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, high-throughput phenomics, and speed breeding to accelerate the identification, validation, and deployment of superior alleles to boost cold tolerance. This review provides a foundation for developing climate-resilient pepper cultivars by connecting functional genomics with precision genome engineering approaches to maintain productivity under variable environmental conditions.

Capsicum↗
PubMed2004

Adaptation to temperate climates.

Only model organisms live in a world of endless summer. Fitness at temperate latitudes reflects the ability of organisms in nature to exploit the favorable season, to mitigate the effects of the unfavorable season, and to make the timely switch from one life style to the other. Herein, we define fitness as Ry, the year-long cohort replacement rate across all four seasons, of the mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii, reared in its natural microhabitat in processor-controlled environment rooms. First, we exposed cohorts of W. smithii, from southern, midlatitude, and northern populations (30-50 degrees N) to southern and northern thermal years during which we factored out evolved differences in photoperiodic response. We found clear evidence of evolved differences in heat and cold tolerance among populations. Relative cold tolerance of northern populations became apparent when populations were stressed to the brink of extinction; relative heat tolerance of southern populations became apparent when the adverse effects of heat could accumulate over several generations. Second, we exposed southern, midlatitude, and northern populations to natural, midlatitude day lengths in a thermally benign midlatitude thermal year. We found that evolved differences in photoperiodic response (1) prevented the timely entry of southern populations into diapause resulting in a 74% decline in fitness, and (2) forced northern populations to endure a warm-season diapause resulting in an 88% decline in fitness. We argue that reciprocal transplants across latitudes in nature always confound the effects of the thermal and photic environment on fitness. Yet, to our knowledge, no one has previously held the thermal year constant while varying the photic year. This distinction is crucial in evaluating the potential impact of climate change. Because global warming in the Northern Hemisphere is proceeding faster at northern than at southern latitudes and because this change represents an amelioration of the thermal environment and a concomitant increase in the duration of the growing season, we conclude that there should be more rapid evolution of photoperiodic response than of thermal tolerance as a consequence of global warming among northern, temperate ectotherms.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2005

Male sterility at extreme temperatures: a significant but neglected phenomenon for understanding Drosophila climatic adaptations.

The thermal range for viability is quite variable among Drosophila species and it has long been known that these variations are correlated with geographic distribution: temperate species are on average more cold tolerant but more heat sensitive than tropical species. At both ends of their viability range, sterile males have been observed in all species investigated so far. This symmetrical phenomenon restricts the temperature limits within which permanent cultures can be kept in the laboratory. Thermal heat sterility thresholds are very variable across species from 23 degrees C in heat sensitive species up to 31 degrees C in heat tolerant species. In Drosophila melanogaster, genetic variations are observed among geographic populations. Tropical populations are more tolerant to heat induced sterility and recover more rapidly than temperate ones. A genetic analysis revealed that about 50% of the difference observed between natural populations was due to the Y chromosome. Natural populations have not reached a selection limit, however: thermal tolerance was still increased by keeping strains at a high temperature, close to the sterility threshold. On the low temperature side, a symmetrical reverse phenomenon seems to exist: temperate populations are more tolerant to cold than tropical ones. Compared to Mammals, drosophilids exhibit two major differences: first, male sterility occurs not only at high temperature, but also at a low temperature; second, sterility thresholds are not evolutionarily constrained, but highly variable. Altogether, significant and sometimes major genetic variations have been observed between species, between geographic races of the same species, and even between strains kept in the laboratory under different thermal regimes. In each case, it is easily argued that the observed variations correspond to adaptations to climatic conditions, and that male sterility is a significant component of fitness and a target of natural selection.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1982

Hormone response of normal and intermittent cold-preadapted humans to continuous cold.

This study examined the hormonal and thermal responses of two groups of subjects during 16 days in the Arctic (mean temperature -26.8 degrees C). One group (NPA) received no prior cold exposure, whereas the second group (PA) was subjected to nine daily immersions (20-40 min) in cold water (15 degrees C) 20 days before the Arctic exposure. Nude cold tolerance tests (cold air at 10 degrees C) were administered to both groups before and after the Arctic exposure. The NPA group showed an increase in metabolism and rectal temperature, whereas the PA group showed no elevation in metabolism and a decrease in rectal temperature. In the Arctic significant daily increases over the control period of urine volume (+86%), urinary norepinephrine (+48%), epinephrine (+84%), and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (+34%) occurred in the NPA group. Only epinephrine (+65%) increased in the PA group. The hormonal and thermal responses of the NPA group in the Arctic were characteristic of metabolic adaption, whereas those in the PA group were suggestive of a hypothermic type of adaptation or habituation with no evidence of sympathetic or adrenocortical stimulation. The hormonal and thermal responses observed in this study indicate that a degree of cold resistance can be induced rapidly in humans by short intermittent exposures to an intense cold stress, which persists for a significant period of time after the last exposure.

17-Hydroxycorticosteroids↗
PubMed1977

Effect of prolonged beta-blockade on energy metabolism and adrenergic responses in the rat.

Rats were treated by daily alprenolol (10, 20 and 50 mg/kg) injections for 5 days a week for 4 weeks. At 20--21 degrees C alprenolol treatment retarded the weight gain of the animals and increased the weight of the adrenals. These changes were not seen at 29 degrees C. The reduction in size and fat content of the interscapular brovin adipose tissue in drug-treated rats was independent of experimental temperature. At 20--21 degrees C prolonged beta-blockade did not cause any changes in the enzymes of the energy metabolism. At 29 degrees C, however, alprenolol treatment antagonized the decrease in activity of oxidative enzymes (succinate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase, citrate synthase) and the decrease in protein concentration of the cardiac muscle. In skeletal muscle alprenolol treatment significantly decreased the activities of oxidative enzymes and antagonized the rise in the activity of lactate dehydrogenase resulting from warm acclimation. The increased activities of oxidative enzymes in interscapular brown adipose tissue of aprenolol treated rats were coupled with an increase in protein concentration of the tissue. Although these changes were more marked at 29 degree C they were observable at 20--21 degree C, too. The difference in the drug effects at 20--21 degrees C and 29 degrees C can be accounted for by the compensatory catecholamine release at the lower temperature, due to impaired thermoregulatory capacity after alprenolol. Prolonged beta blockade decreased the exercise tolerance and cold tolerance of the rats. An increased response of the diastolic blood pressure to an alpha-adrenergic drug, noradrenaline, and a decreased response to a beta-adrenergic drug, isoprenaline, in alprenolol-treated rats indicates a shift from beta- to alpha-receptors.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1996

Induction of tolerance to hypothermia by previous heat shock using human fibroblasts in culture.

The technique of organ preservation is limited by the amount of time which organs can be hypothermically stored. A potential method to effectively extend reliable storage times involves the conditioning of cells to better withstand hypothermia by previous exposure to a less severe stress. Using human fibroblasts in culture, we have demonstrated that such an approach may be feasible. Subjecting human diploid IMR-90 fibroblasts to 5 h 42.5 degrees C heat shock was found to improve cell survival more than 10-fold to subsequent 4 degrees C hypothermic exposure. The prior heat shock resulted in the increased synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSPs), the absolute concentrations of which were measured by an assay which utilized sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting techniques. Both the degree of cold tolerance conferred upon IMR-90 cells and the levels of HSP27 and HSP27 were dependent upon initial heat shock duration. Induced cold tolerance was found to be reversible; longer recovery times at 37 degrees C following heat shock resulted in a loss of this cold-tolerant state as well as a disappearance of HSPs. The fact that the degree of cold tolerance and HSP concentrations showed similar trends with respect to both heat shock time at 42.5 degrees C and subsequent recovery time at 37 degrees C suggests that these proteins may be intimately involved in the induction of cold tolerance.

Cells, Cultured↗
PubMed1993

Plasma Membrane Lipids Associated with Genetic Variability in Freezing Tolerance and Cold Acclimation of Solanum Species.

Simultaneous comparisons were made between a freezing-tolerant, cold-acclimating (CA) wild potato species (Solanum commersonii) and a freezing-sensitive, nonacclimating (NA) cultivated species (Solanum tuberosum). Comparative studies allowed differentiation of plasma membrane lipid changes associated with increased freezing tolerance following CA from lipid changes that can result from metabolic adjustment to reduced temperature during CA. Following CA treatment lipid changes found in both the NA and CA species included a decrease in palmitic acid, an increase in unsaturated to saturated fatty acid ratio, an increase in free sterols, an increase in sitosterol, and a slight decrease in cerebrosides. Lipid changes detected only in the acclimating species included an increase in phosphatidylethanolamine, a decrease in sterol to phospholipid ratio, an increase in linoleic acid, a decrease in linolenic acid, and an increase in acylated steryl glycoside to steryl glycoside ratio. These changes were either absent or opposite in the NA species, suggesting an association of these lipid changes with CA. Furthermore, the lipid changes associated with increased freezing tolerance during CA were distinct from lipid differences between the two species in the NA state.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1990

Metabolic heat production during repeated cold stress in adult and aged male C57BL/6J mice.

Adult and aged male C57BL/6J mice were subjected to three consecutive 3-hour cold stress tests (partial physical restraint at 6 degrees C), repeated 2 weeks apart. Body mass and colonic temperature were measured before each test, and colonic temperature, O2 consumption, and CO2 production were measured during cold exposure. The slopes of colonic temperature and heat production and the mean metabolic heat production were calculated for each animal. Adult mice showed stronger cold tolerance compared to aged mice and also exhibited habituation to cold exposure (improvement of cold tolerance with repeated tests). Mean metabolic heat production during cold exposure was greater in adult mice, and only adults demonstrated significant increases across tests in both metabolic heat production and slope of metabolic heat production over time. We hypothesize that reduced cold tolerance in aged mice is related mainly to a decrease in metabolic heat production. Increased metabolic heat production in subsequent tests in adults is a probable mechanism for habituation to repeated cold exposure.

Aging↗
PubMed1976

Detection of carriers of hemophilia by hemorrhagometry.

Hemorrhagometry measures bleeding time, bleeding intensity and blood loss from a small standardized skin wound. In patients with hemophilia these values are within the normal range when hemorrhagometry is performed at room temperature (24 degrees C). However, when the wound is cooled to 17 degrees C (cold tolerance test), bleeding time is abnormally long in hemophiliacs. Therefore we applied this test to carriers of hemophilia. The cold tolerance test was performed in 16 proven and 6 probable carriers (criteria according to Nilsson). 14 proven and 4 probable carriers showed abnormal bleeding times of 15 min and more. When hemorrhagometry was performed at room temperature, the carriers could not be distinguished from normal control persons. Of 15 sisters and aunts of hemophiliacs without male offspring (potential carriers) 9 had abnormal cold tolerance test findings, in fair agreement with the probability of 0.5 to be expected theoretically. Thus the hemorrhagometry cold tolerance test seems to be helpful in detecting carriers of hemophilia.

Blood Coagulation Tests↗
PubMed2002

Molecular genecology of temperature response in Lolium perenne: 2. association of AFLP markers with ecogeography.

Improved winter hardiness is an important breeding objective in the forage grass Lolium perenne. This is a complex trait with several components, including the ability to survive and grow at low temperature, to acclimate to cold, tolerate wind, snow cover and ice encasement. Marker-assisted selection has the potential to increase the efficiency of breeding for improved cold tolerance. Here we describe a genecological approach to identifying molecular markers that are associated with adaptation to low winter temperatures. AFLP was used to assess the genetic diversity in 29 wild populations of ryegrass (Lolium perenne) representing a pan-European temperature cline in terms of their geographical origin. A further 18 populations from a temperature cline in Bulgaria were also analysed. In addition, two varieties and five populations representing parents of mapping families currently in use at IGER were included in the analysis. Principal coordinate (PCoA) and cluster analyses of the molecular marker data showed that the Bulgarian altitude cline populations could be distinguished clearly from the other populations. Two regression analyses were carried out; one to identify AFLP markers that correlated in frequency with low mean January temperature of the geographical origin of the population, and another to identify AFLP markers correlating in frequency with the cold tolerance phenotype of the populations, as determined by LT50 values in freezing tests. In the first analysis six AFLP markers showed significant type II trends with mean January temperature, and in the second analysis 28 bands had a significant univariate relationship with the LT50 value of the accessions. In steps 2 and 3 of the stepwise analysis a further 4 and 5 bands, respectively, improved the fit significantly. The results of the two types of regression analysis are discussed in relation to ecogeography and cold tolerance phenotype of the populations.

Ecology↗
PubMed2003

Detecting freeze injury and seasonal cold-hardening of cells and tissues in the gall fly larvae, Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera: Tephritidae) using fluorescent vital dyes.

This study identified a hierarchy in levels of cold tolerance for diverse tissues from larvae of Eurosta solidaginis. Following freezing at -80 degrees C, larval survival and the viability of specific tissues were assessed using membrane-permeant DNA stain (SYBY-14) and propidium iodide. Integumentary muscle, hemocytes, tracheae, and the crystal-containing portion of the Malpighian tubules were most susceptible to freezing injury. A second group consisting of fat body, salivary glands, and the proximal region of the Malpighian tubules were intermediate in their susceptibility, while the foregut, midgut, and hindgut were the most resistant to freezing injury. Seasonal increases in larval cold tolerance were closely matched by changes in the cold tolerance of individual tissues. Compared to larvae collected in September, the survival rates for each of the six tissues tested from October-collected larvae increased by 20-30%. The survival rate in all tissues was notably higher than that of whole animals, indicating that larval death could not be explained by the mortality in any of the tissues we tested. This method will be useful for assessing the nature of chilling/freezing injury, the role cryoprotectants, and cellular changes promoting cold tolerance.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed2005

[Transformation of Volvariella volvacea with a thermal hysteresis protein gene by particle bombardment].

A cDNA encoding a thermal hysteresis protein was isolated from the Swedish Arctic insect spruce budworm by RT-PCR amplification. Volvariella volvacea strain V34 was transformed with this cDNA through particle bombardment. PCR detection and Southern blotting analysis show that the thermal hysteresis protein gene is integrated into Volvariella volvacea genome. Cold stress assay reveals that transgenic Volvariella volvacea lines exhibit stronger cold tolerance than host strain. The morphological observation of transgenic Volvariella volvacea lines shows that growth rates of most Volvariella volvacea transformants are significantly slower than that of negative control strain. And hypha of most Volvariella volvacea tansformants is thinner than host strain's hypha. Transformant screening result indicates that three-round of selection procedure with first selection on PDSA solid selective medium followed by second and third selection in PDSB liquid selective medium is favorable to get genuine transformants and to eliminate false transformants. Cold tolerance assay of transgenic Volvariella volvacea F1 generation demonstrates that the progeny of transgenic Volvariella volvacea still possesses stronger cold tolerance than non-transformed host strain. This suggests that the cold tolerant characteristic of transgenic Volvariella volvacea is meiotically stable between generations.

Agaricales↗
PubMed1988

Habituation and dishabituation to repeated mild cold exposures in C57BL/6J mice.

Every two weeks for 12 weeks four groups of C57BL/6J male mice, initially 12 months old, were subjected to three-hour cold stress tests, which consisted of a partial physical restraint at an ambient temperature of 10 degrees C. The control group experienced six consecutive tests; one experimental group skipped the cold exposure during test No. 4 but was physically restrained at room temperature; the other two experimental groups omitted test No. 4. One of these groups spent the four weeks between test No. 3 and test No. 5 in their home cages, while the other was subjected to daily, 30-minute sessions of electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus through electrodes implanted in the "rewarding" area of the medial forebrain bundle. All animals in this group showed self-stimulating behavior in the test session which preceded cold stress test No. 1. During test No. 3, all four groups showed an improvement of cold tolerance relative to their first tests; body mass and colonic temperature prior to cold exposure remained unchanged. The two experimental groups that were not exposed to cold during test No. 4 and did not receive brain stimulation, demonstrated a significant worsening of cold tolerance during the subsequent test. Their body mass and baseline colonic temperatures did not change. The control group and the group which was subjected to brain stimulation during the interval between tests No. 3 and No. 5 did not demonstrate any changes in cold tolerance. These data demonstrated habituation to repeated mild cold exposures and dishabituation after interruption of cold exposures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2026

Genome-wide identification and evolutionary analysis of the ERF-VII gene family in the tea plant (Camellia sinensis) and functional characterization of CsRAP2.2 in response to cold stress.

The ERF-VII gene family, a critical branch of the AP2/ERF superfamily, is central to plant stress adaptation. However, its evolutionary history and function in tea plant (Camellia sinensis) remain unclear. Here, we performed integrated evolutionary, genomic, and functional analyses of ERF-VII genes across 14 plant lineages and 20 tea plant cultivars. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that ERF-VII proteins originated after vascular plant divergence, coinciding with the emergence of the N-terminal MCGGA/I motif linked to the oxygen-dependent N-degron pathway. Gymnosperms retained few conserved members, whereas angiosperms exhibited lineage-specific expansion-extensive in monocots via whole-genome duplication, moderate in eudicots with functional diversification. Pan-genome analysis across 20 tea plant cultivars further revealed varietal differences in ERF-VII gene distribution. Transcriptome profiling via the Tea Plant Information Archive identified CsRAP2.2 as a cold-inducible ERF-VII member with sustained expression under low-temperature stress. Functional assays demonstrated that silencing CsRAP2.2 reduced cold tolerance, while overexpression in tea leaves and heterologous expression in Arabidopsis thaliana enhanced cold tolerance by maintaining photosystem II efficiency, reducing membrane lipid peroxidation, and improving antioxidant capacity. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis positioned CsRAP2.2 as a regulatory hub integrating cold, hormone, and oxygen-sensing pathways. These results clarify the evolutionary trajectory of ERF-VII genes and establish CsRAP2.2 as a core cold-tolerance regulator in tea plant. These findings may inform future breeding of cold-resilient tea cultivars.

Camellia sinensis↗
PubMed2004

Hyperactive spruce budworm antifreeze protein expression in transgenic Drosophila does not confer cold shock tolerance.

Drosophila melanogaster, a freeze intolerant and cold shock sensitive insect, was transformed with the hyperactive insect antifreeze protein gene (AFP) from the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana. Transformation P-element constructs (pCasper) were made with CfAFP 337 isoform DNA using a strong constitutive promoter, Actin 5c. This is the first report of insect AFP used to transform another insect. Properly folded active insect AFP was only detected when signal sequences were used to target proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum for secretion into the hemolymph. The 18 residue Drosophila binding protein signal sequence (BiP) constructs resulted in transformed fly lines with significantly higher AFP expression in hemolymph than when the native C. fumiferana AFP signal sequence was used. The resultant transgene fly lines have the highest levels of thermal hysteresis, 0.8 degrees C, seen for any engineered Drosophila. Despite the high level of expression, even higher than some overwintering fish with natural levels of endogenous AFP, the transformants did not display any cold shock resistance compared to controls or low AFP expressing lines. These results indicate that insect AFP alone cannot protect Drosophila from cold shock and may not be useful for Drosophila cryopreservation.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

The effects of carbon dioxide anesthesia and anoxia on rapid cold-hardening and chill coma recovery in Drosophila melanogaster.

Carbon dioxide gas is used as an insect anesthetic in many laboratories, despite recent studies which have shown that CO(2) can alter behavior and fitness. We examine the effects of CO(2) and anoxia (N(2)) on cold tolerance, measuring the rapid cold-hardening (RCH) response and chill coma recovery in Drosophila melanogaster. Short exposures to CO(2) or N(2) do not significantly affect RCH, but 60 min of exposure negates RCH. Exposure to CO(2) anesthesia increases chill coma recovery time, but this effect disappears if the flies are given 90 min recovery in air before chill coma induction. Flies treated with N(2) show a similar pattern, but require significantly longer chill coma recovery times even after 90 min of recovery from anoxia. Our results suggest that CO(2) anesthesia is an acceptable way to manipulate flies before cold tolerance experiments (when using RCH or chill coma recovery as a measure), provided exposure duration is minimized and recovery is permitted before chill coma induction. However, we recommend that exposure to N(2) not be used as a method of anesthesia for chill coma studies.

Acclimatization↗