Lipid remodelling: unravelling the response to cold stress in Arabidopsis and its extremophile relative Eutrema salsugineum

Environmental constraints limit the geographic distribution of many economically important crops. Cold stress is
an important abiotic stress that affects plant growth and development, resulting in loss of vigour and surface
lesions. These symptoms are caused by, among other metabolic processes, the altered physical and chemical
composition of cell membranes. As a major component of cell membranes lipids have been recognized as having
a significant role in cold stress, both as a mechanical defence through leaf surface protection and plasma
membrane remodelling, and as signal transduction molecules. We present an overview integrating gene expression
and lipidomic data published so far in Arabidopsis and its relative the extremophile Eutrema salsugineum.
This data enables a better understanding of the contribution of the lipidome in determining the ability to tolerate
suboptimal temperature conditions. Collectively this information will allow us to identify the key lipids and
pathways responsible for resilience, enabling the development of new approaches for crop tolerance to stress.