Norway spruce cold stress needles data set

So far most cold acclimation gene expression studies have addressed short-term responses in herbaceous plant leaves but few have addressed the acclimation responses further 24 hours to freezing and even fewer have investigated perennial evergreens such as conifers. RNA-Sequencing data of needles from Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.) subjected to cold treatments through a chilling progression (5 degrees Celsius) until 10 days at freeze temperature (-5 degrees Celsius) were analysed and a regulatory network was constructed. Two-year-old Norway spruce seedlings of the seed provenance Lilla Istad-Sweden were planted in pots and grown at 18 degrees Celsius in a 16 h : 8 h, light : dark photoperiod. Forty seedlings were shifted to continuous cold temperature at 5 degrees Celsius for up to ten days. Needles were collected 0, 6, 24 hours and 3 and 10 days after start of the cold treatment. Subsequently the seedlings were exposed to sub-zero freezing temperature at -5 degrees Celsius for another ten days. Samples were also taken 6, 24 hours and 3 and 10 days after adaptation of the air temperature to sub-zero. For each time point five replicates were subsequently analysed.