Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a class of short, usually positively charged polypeptides that exist in humans, animals, and plants. Considering the increasing number of drug-resistant pathogens, the antimicrobial activity of AMPs has attracted much attention. AMPs with broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity against many gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi are an important defensive barrier against pathogens for many organisms. With continuing research, many other physiological functions of plant AMPs have been found in addition to their antimicrobial roles, such as regulating plant growth and development and treating many diseases with high efficacy. The potential applicability of plant AMPs in agricultural production, as food additives and disease treatments, has garnered much interest. This review focuses on the types of plant AMPs, their mechanisms of action, the parameters affecting the antimicrobial activities of AMPs, and their potential applications in agricultural production, the food industry, breeding industry, and medical field.

Rice adaptation to low temperatures involves changes in their genetic and physiological architecture, caused by complex and variable transcriptional regulatory networks to regulate between growth and stress resistance. Overwintering rice survives cold winter and germinates the following spring. The perennial and cold‐tolerant properties present great potential regarding rice breeding and food security. In this study, the cold‐tolerant overwintering cultivar rice, “glutinous rice 89‐1” (Gr 89‐1), and an indica cultivar rice, “R07,” were placed at 4°C at the tillering stage and sampled at 0, 12, 24, and 96 h, and recovery 7 days. Physiological indicators of each sample were measured, and transcriptome analysis was performed. The results revealed that the overwintering cultivar rice Gr 89‐1 exhibited a pattern of physiological parameters consistent with the cold‐tolerant phenotype, less membrane damage accumulation and water loss with increasing duration of low temperature, and a stable increase in peroxidase activities, catalase activities, and soluble sugar content. Transcriptome analysis of two cultivars at 0, 12, and 24 h under 4°C revealed different gene expression patterns to low temperatures. Compared with R07, gene ontology terms of nuclear lumen, endomembrane system, organelle membrane, and envelope were enriched in Gr 89‐1, suggesting an alteration of membrane composition during cold acclimation. Specific upregulated transcription factors and cold‐tolerance regulators indicated a coordinated response between signal transduction, energy regulation, cell cycle, and circadian rhythm, which might help maintain cell homeostasis and improve Gr 89‐1 survival under cold stress. Two candidate genes OsETR3 and NAC78 were screened out, they significantly upregulated at 12 and 24 h of cold treatment in Gr 89‐1 and were higher than R07, and they were involved in cell wall remodeling and endoplasmic reticulum homeostasis under stress, respectively, which may relate to the cold‐tolerant trait of Gr 89‐1.