Epigenetic Control of Cold Stress Tolerance in Plants: Emerging Mechanisms and Applications for Crop Improvement

Low temperature is an abiotic stress factor that affects plant development and geographic expansion, resulting in significant economic losses in worldwide food production each year. Through evolution, plants have developed intricate adaptation systems, with epigenetic regulation—modifying gene expression without altering DNA sequences—being pivotal in the cold stress response and memory formation. This review provides a systematic overview of the role of the main epigenetic mechanisms, including histone modifications, DNA methylation, non-coding RNA regulation, and chromatin remodeling, in plant cold stress responses. The article summarized research on plants, including model species Arabidopsis thaliana and rice, examined epigenetically mediated cold-stress memory and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance, and analyzed synergistic interactions among regulatory pathways. Finally, by integrating recent advances, the study identifies scientific challenges and research bottlenecks in this field and outlines future research directions and application prospects in cold-resistant crop breeding. Finally, by integrating recent advances, the study identifies scientific challenges and research bottlenecks in this field, outlines future research directions and application prospects for cold-resistant crop breeding, and provides references for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms of plant cold adaptation and for developing new cold-resistant crop varieties. These outcomes offer references for further elucidating the molecular mechanisms of plant cold adaptation and developing new cold-resistant crop varieties.