Desaturase mutants reveal that membrane rigidification acts as a cold perception mechanism upstream of the diacylglycerol kinase pathway in Arabidopsis cells.

Membrane rigidification could be the first step of cold perception in poikilotherms. We have investigated its implication in diacylglycerol kinase (DAGK) activation by cold stress in suspension cells from Arabidopsis mutants altered in desaturase activities. By lateral diffusion assay, we showed that plasma membrane rigidification with temperature decrease was steeper in cells deficient in oleate desaturase than in wild type cells and in cells overexpressing linoleate desaturase. The threshold for the activation of the DAGK pathway in each type of cells correlated with this order of rigidification rate, suggesting that cold induced-membrane rigidification is upstream of DAGK pathway activation.