Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a typical tropical oil crop with a temperature of 26–28 °C, providing approximately 35% of the total world’s vegetable oil. Growth and productivity are significantly affected by low-temperature stress, resulting in inhibited growth and substantial yield losses. To comprehend the intricate molecular mechanisms underlying the response and acclimation of oil palm under low-temperature stress, multi-omics approaches, including metabolomics, proteomics, and transcriptomics, have emerged as powerful tools. This comprehensive review aims to provide an in-depth analysis of recent advancements in multi-omics studies on oil palm under low-temperature stress, including the key findings from omics-based research, highlighting changes in metabolite profiles, protein expression, and gene transcription, as well as including the potential of integrating multi-omics data to reveal novel insights into the molecular networks and regulatory pathways involved in the response to low-temperature stress. This review also emphasizes the challenges and prospects of multi-omics approaches in oil palm research, providing a roadmap for future investigations. Overall, a better understanding of the molecular basis of the response of oil palm to low-temperature stress will facilitate the development of effective breeding and biotechnological strategies to improve the crop’s resilience and productivity in changing climate scenarios.

Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) is a quintessential tropical oilseed crop, whose distribution and yield are significantly constrained by low-temperature stress. This study conducted physiological and proteomic analyses to investigate the early response mechanisms of one-year-old thin-shelled oil palm seedlings exposed to low temperatures of 8 °C for durations of 0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 8 h. The results indicated that low-temperature treatment inhibited chlorophyll accumulation, reduced photosynthetic efficiency, and increased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and soluble sugars. Concurrently, the activities of antioxidant enzymes exhibited a transient increase, suggesting an imbalance in the antioxidant defense system during the later stages of stress. Proteomics results indicate that the core pathways involved are fatty acid degradation and the regulatory pathways for starch and sucrose metabolism. Within these pathways, key proteins such as ACSL (long-chain fatty acid-CoA ligase), paaF (enoyl-CoA hydratase), HADH (3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase), and HADHA (enoyl-CoA hydratase/long-chain 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase) are identified among 13 differential accumulation protein (DAPs). It is hypothesized that these key proteins work in concert to regulate osmosis, scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS), stabilize membranes, and supply energy. Through physiological and proteomic analyses, this study identified physiological indicators, key proteins, and regulatory pathways associated with cold tolerance in oil palm, thus providing a theoretical basis for breeding low-temperature-tolerant oil palm varieties. The findings contribute to the development of low-temperature-tolerant oil palm cultivars.