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Phospholipase D (PLD) belongs to a large gene family widely found in plants; it can hydrolyze phospholipids to produce phosphatidic acid (PA) and free polar head groups. The PLD family plays an important role in response to various stresses, such as programmed cell death, freezing tolerance, drought and salt tolerance. In this study, a total of 11 PLD genes in Prunus persica were identified, and their expressions patterns under low temperature stress by quantitative real-time PCR were functionally characterized, and determined. The results showed that the chilling injury incidence was not changed significantly in the early stage of low-temperature storage because of some PLD genes involved in freezing tolerance, but it changed significantly during the late stage of low-temperature storage. This was because some PLD genes participated in the degradation of cell membranes during the latter stage. The expression patterns of the 11 PLD genes changed differently during low-temperature conditioning, indicating different functions of the PLD isoforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]