title: Harden the chloroplast to protect the plant.
abstract: The chloroplast is the central switch of the plant's response to cold and light stress. The ability of many plant species to develop a cold tolerant phenotype is dependent on the presence of light and photosynthetic activity during low-temperature growth. Light exposure at low temperature stimulates an over-reduction of the plastoquinone pool as well as the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, and both metabolic conditions generate a retrograde signal controlling nuclear gene expression. At the same time the chloroplast is the target of many cold acclimation processes which are the results of the chloroplast-nucleus cross-talk. Often, the extent of cold acclimation of the chloroplast is tightly correlated with the overall plant tolerance to chilling and freezing temperatures, a finding suggesting that the chloroplast cold acclimation could be the rate limiting factor in the adaptation to low temperature.
authors.affiliation: CRA-Genomics Research Centre, 29017 Fiorenzuola d'Arda-PC, Italy.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Crosatti
authors.forename: Fulvia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rizza
authors.forename: Franz W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Badeck
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mazzucotelli
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cattivelli
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000502:physiology*; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D003080:Cold Temperature; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D008027:Light; D010788:Photosynthesis; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins