Cold acclimation in Arabidopsis and wheat : a response associated with expression of related genes encoding ;boiling-stable' polypeptides

Changes in gene expression occur during cold acclimation in a wide variety of plant species. Here we show that a number of the polypeptides encoded by cold-regulated (cor) genes of Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Heyn) and wheat share the unusual biochemical property that they remain soluble upon boiling in aqueous solution. Further, cDNA cloning in conjunction with Southern and Northern analyses indicate that wheat has a cor gene that is related to Arabidopsis cor47, a gene encoding a 47 kilodalton `boiling-stable' COR polypeptide. We suggest it is likely that the boiling-stable COR polypeptides have a fundamental role in plants acclimating to cold temperatures and discuss the possibility that they may act as cryoprotectants.