# New insights into controlling horticultural crop quality deterioration caused by cold stress: epigenetic modification

## TL;DR

This paper explores how epigenetic changes help horticultural crops respond to cold stress and how this knowledge can be used to prevent quality loss.

## Contribution

The paper reviews epigenetic mechanisms in cold stress responses and discusses new technologies for controlling quality deterioration in horticultural crops.

## Key findings

- Epigenetic modifications are crucial in cold stress responses, affecting proteins, cell membranes, and metabolism.
- Exogenous treatments can alter epigenetic modifications, influencing cold tolerance and quality preservation.
- New editing technologies offer potential for manipulating epigenetic regulation in horticultural crops.

## Abstract

Low-temperature environments cause chilling injury in horticultural crops and accelerate quality deterioration after rewarming, which is closely related to epigenetic modifications. Epigenetic regulation is widely involved in various aspects of cold responses in horticultural crops, including the expression of cold-tolerant proteins, dynamic changes in cell membranes, energy metabolism, and reactive oxygen species metabolism. With the emergence and development of new scientific technologies, uncovering the secrets of epigenetic regulation in horticultural crop quality is becoming possible. Therefore, this paper reviews the types, roles, and potential mechanisms of epigenetic modifications involved in cold stress responses in horticultural crops, summarizes the dynamic changes and effects of exogenous treatments on epigenetic modifications, and discusses the feasibility of new editing technologies in epigenetic research and applications. This review aims to elucidate the complex regulatory mechanisms of epigenetic control in cold responses in horticultural crops, providing a theoretical foundation for developing novel strategies to control quality decline in horticultural crops.