GLV HAVE BEEN MOSTLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE REGULATION OF DEFENSE RESPONSES, IN PARTICULAR DEFENSE PRIMING, IN PLANTS. HOWEVER, RECENTLY WE FOUND THAT GLV ARE ALSO REGULATORS OF ABIOTIC STRESS RESPONSES AND FOR EXAMPLE PROTECT AGAINST COLD STRESS DAMAGE. PLANTS THAT WERE TREATED WITH GLV AT PHYSIOLOGICAL CONCENTRATIONS SHOWED LESS COLD DAMAGE AND RETAINED NORMAL GROWTH WHILE UNTREATED PLANTS SHOWED SEVERE DAMAGE AND GROWTH REDUCTION UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS. WE HAVE FURTHER IDENTIFIED GLV- AND COLD-INDUCIBLE SETS OF GENES, SOME OF WHICH APPEAR TO BE INVOLVED IN CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM. ACTIVATED BY COMBINATIONS OF GLV AND COLD TREATMENT THESE GENES MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PRODUCTION/MOBILIZATION OF SPECIFIC PRIMARY METABOLITES THAT PROVIDE DIRECT AND/OR INDIRECT PROTECTION AS WELL AS STIMULATE GROWTH IN PLANTS WHEN UNDER COLD STRESS. THE PROJECT AIMS TOWARDS A MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF HOW GLV AFFECT CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM RESULTING IN A BETTER COLD PROTECTION BY CHARACTERIZING NOVEL MOLECULAR MECHANISM RESULTING IN THE SEQUENTIAL MOBILIZATION OF CARBOHYDRATES. SINCE PLANTS CANNOT ANTICIPATE NIGHTTIME TEMPERATURE CHANGES, THIS REGULATORY SEQUENCE ALLOWS THEM TO BE PREPARED SHOULD TEMPERATURES DROP WITHOUT MAKING UNNECESSARY METABOLIC INVESTMENTS INTO THEIR PROTECTION. GLV MAY THEREFORE SERVE AS A LOW-COST PROTECTION WITHOUT NEGATIVELY AFFECTING GROWTH AND MAY THEREFORE PROVIDE A NOVEL APPROACH TO GENERATE COLD-RESISTANT PLANTS FOR AGRICULTURE. GLV, WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY ONLY BEEN RECOGNIZED AS IMPORTANT REGULATORS OF PLANT RESPONSES TO BIOTIC STRESSES, APPEAR TO ALSO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AND YET UNCHARACTERIZED ROLE IN THE PROTECTION AGAINST ABIOTIC STRESSES. ADDING TO THIS ARE OUR FINDINGS THAT KEY METABOLIC GENES ARE ALSO INDUCED BY EXPOSURE TO GLV. UNDERSTANDING THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISM MAY EVENTUALLY ENABLE US TO UTILIZE THIS KNOWLEDGE BY SELECTING LINES WITH ENHANCED PROTECTION THROUGH ENDOGENOUSLY PRODUCED GLV AND TO INCORPORATE THIS TRAIT INTO MAJOR CROPS THEREBY INCREASING FOOD SECURITY IN THE US AND ALSO WORLDWIDE. THE PROJECT DESCRIBES A NOVEL CONCEPT OF HOW PLANTS CAN BE PROTECTED BY GLV AGAINST COLD STRESS DAMAGE WHILE MAINTAINING NORMAL GROWTH. THE CONCEPT IS BASED ON PRIMING THESE RESPONSES RATHER THAN FULLY ACTIVATING THEM AND THE SEQUENTIAL ACTIVATION OF CARBOHYDRATE METABOLISM APPEARS TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS PROCESS. ADDITIONALLY, PLANTS MAY ALSO PRIME THEMSELVES METABOLICALLY BY PRODUCING GLV AT THE ONSET OF DARKNESS RESULTING IN KEY METABOLIC GENE EXPRESSION. HOWEVER, THIS PARADIGM SHIFT FOR GLV, FROM DEFENSE TO ABIOTIC STRESSES TO METABOLIC MODULATION, REQUIRES A THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF ALL COMPONENTS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THIS PROTECTION AND HOW THESE COMPONENTS INTERACT WITH OTHERS. TO DATE OUR KNOWLEDGE IS VERY RUDIMENTARY AND MOSTLY BASED ON VERY PRELIMINARY AND INCOMPLETE DATA. THIS PROJECT WILL PROVIDE FIRST DATA ON HOW GLV MODULATE PRIMARY METABOLISM.THE PROJECT WITH FURTHER PROVIDE HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE FOR MAINLY UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS BY GIVING THEM RESEARCH PROJECTS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PURPOSE OF THIS PROPOSAL AND ALLOW THEM TO RESEARCH A PATHWAY THAT THEY CONSTANTLY HEAR ABOUT IN LECTURES, BUT HAVE VERY LITTLE ACCESS TO FROM A POINT OF PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND REGULATION.