In November 2026, Liu Zigang's team from
Gansu Agricultural University published a review article titled "
Research on mechanism of cold resistance of rapeseed" in the
Acta Agronomica Sinica.
Chen Bi-Cong was the first author, and
Liu Zi-Gang was the corresponding author. This paper systematically summarizes the physiological and molecular research findings on rapeseed's low-temperature resistance, analyzes morphological and physiological characteristics, core signaling pathways, and cold-tolerance gene resources, identifies current research gaps, and provides theoretical support for the exploration of cold-tolerant rapeseed germplasm and molecular breeding.
Rapeseed is an important oilseed crop in China, and rapeseed oil is a major source of domestically produced edible vegetable oil. Low-temperature frost meteorological disasters have adverse effects on various growth stages of rapeseed, including germination, seedling, bolting, flowering, and podding periods, leading to phenomena such as slow plant growth, reduced fertility, and decreased yield. Large-scale, long-duration severe low-temperature frost meteorological disaster events occur approximately every 5 to 7 years, and the intensity of these disasters is increasing. Severe frost can cause substantial yield losses and, in some affected areas, crop failure. Conducting analysis of cold tolerance physiology and molecular mechanisms, and mining key cold-tolerance genes, holds significant theoretical value and practical importance for ensuring national oilseed security and promoting high-quality development of the rapeseed industry.
This review systematically summarizes the existing research progress in cold tolerance of rapeseed in China from multiple dimensions including physiological and biochemical aspects, molecular regulation, and production applications. At the physiological level, strongly cold-tolerant winter rapeseed exhibits typical morphological characteristics such as prostrate seedlings, sunken growth points, and well-developed root systems. In terms of molecular mechanisms, the review focuses on analyzing two core regulatory modules: the classical ICE1-CBF-COR low-temperature signaling pathway and the MAPK cascade signaling pathway. It also sorts out the cold tolerance functions of various functional genes, including LEA proteins, antifreeze proteins (AFP), and GST gene families.
The article also sorts out practical field production technologies. Agronomic measures such as variety screening, sowing period regulation, fertilizer management, and mid-row cultivation can enhance the cold resistance of rapeseed during wintering in the field, providing practical reference for disaster reduction in production.
The article initially clarifies the adaptive change patterns of winter rapeseed with strong cold tolerance in terms of morphological characteristics, physiological and biochemical properties, as well as leaf micro and ultrastructural aspects. Meanwhile, by combining transcriptomics, molecular markers, and other molecular biological techniques, a series of candidate genes and key metabolic pathways related to the cold tolerance of winter rapeseed were identified at the molecular level, laying an important theoretical foundation for deeply understanding the cold tolerance mechanism of rapeseed. However, cold tolerance in rapeseed is a complex quantitative trait regulated by multiple genes, and its molecular regulatory mechanisms still need to be further elucidated. The number of reported cold-tolerance-related genes is currently limited, the interaction relationships and regulatory networks among key regulatory factors are not yet complete, and there is still significant room for improvement in the exploration and utilization of excellent cold-tolerance-related gene resources.
Related reading
CNKI: Research on mechanism of cold resistance of rapeseed
Acta Agronomica Sinica, Vol. 52 No. 11 November 2026
Acta Agronomica Sinica
Acta Agronomica Sinica (AAS, ISSN 0496-3490) is a monthly academic journal co-sponsored by Crop Science Society of China and the Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, under the leadership of China Association for Science and Technology and published by Science Press, Chinese Academy of Sciences. AAS was firstly published in 1962. Its predecessors were Chinese Journal of Agricultural Research started in 1950 and Acta Agriculturae Sinica started in 1952. As one of the key scientific journals in China, AAS has been financially supported by China Association for Science and Technology since 1997 and the National Natural Science Foundation of China since 2000.
The major aims of AAS are to report the progresses in the disciplines of crop breeding, crop genetics, crop cultivation, crop physiology, ecology, biochemistry, germplasm resources, grain chemistry, grain storage and processing, bio-technology and biomathematics etc. mainly in China and abroad. AAS provides regular columns for Original papers, Reviews, and Research notes. The journal uses peer review to assess the scientific quality of submitted manuscripts. The readership of AAS is for crop science researchers, students of agricultural colleges and universities, and persons with similar academic level.
AAS are indexed in some international index systems, such as AGRIS (FAO), CAB Abstracts and Global Health of Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, Scopus, DOAJ, Dimensions, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts, Food Science and Technology Abstracts, Index of Copurnicus, EBSCO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, and VINITI Abstracts Journal (Russia). AAS is also referenced by many domestic databases and abstract periodicals.