Early activation of CIPK3 in the cold-tolerant potato Solanum commersonii

Solanum commersonii shows tolerance to low temperatures, a key target trait for potato breeding. Calcium-dependent protein kinases (CIPKs) play a significant role in plant defence response to several stresses, including cold. In this study, we observed the expression of ScCIPK1, ScCIPK3, ScCIPK23 and ScCIPK24 in S. commersonii exposed to 4 °C at multiple time intervals. Initial findings revealed that these genes were under-expressed after 10 and 30 minutes of cold stress, except ScCIPK3. Notably, after 24 hours, all genes displayed higher expression levels compared to the non-stressed controls. These findings highlight the role of ScCIPK3 in the early stages of cold response and indicate a coordinated regulatory mechanism across CIPKs that likely contributes to the cold stress tolerance observed in S. commersonii. In this work, we introduce a model to elucidate the signalling crosstalk under cold stress in S. commersonii, providing insights that could facilitate the development of cold-resistant potato cultivars.