The process of cold acclimation in plants, which elicits an increase in freezing tolerance, is a complex developmental phenomenon that involves the orchestration of many different processes. Although seemingly desperate, many of the cold acclimation-associated processes ultimately contribute to the increase in cryostability of the plasma membrane, destabilization of which is the primary cause of freezing injury. To understand cold acclimation process comprehensively, we need to characterize the freeze-induced lesions that determine the freezing tolerance and then the mechanism of minimization of these freeze-induced lesions during cold acclimation. In this review, we describe the specific freeze-induced lesions in isolated protoplasts and then several important changes occurring during cold acclimation, which are associated with the minimization of the freeze-induced lesions and, hence, the increase in freezing tolerance. This approach allows us to make strategic plans for molecular breeding of cold-tolerant agricultural plants efficiently.
