Cold acclimation in the sfr3-1 mutant

The sfr3-1 mutation causes freezing-sensitivity in Arabidopsis thaliana. The mutated gene has been identified by positional cloning and is currently being characterised. The mutant appears normal when grown in the warm (no phenotype has been identified associated with such growth). However, following cold acclimation and subsequent freezing mutant plants are severely damaged whilst wild type plants are not. This suggests that sfr3 is deficient in the cold acclimation process. Micro-array analysis will enable the identification of any transcriptional changes during the cold acclimation process. This information will then be used, together with information obtained by gene characterisation, in order to more fully understand the nature of the sfr3 mutation. 8 samples were used in this experiment.