Abstract
The APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) regulates physiological, developmental and stress responses. Most of the AP2/ERF TFs belong to the ERF family in both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants. ERFs are implicated in the responses to both biotic and abiotic stress and occasionally impart multiple stress tolerance. Studies have revealed that ERF gene function is conserved in dicots and monocots. Moreover, successful stress tolerance phenotypes are observed on expression in heterologous systems, making ERFs promising candidates for engineering stress tolerance in plants. In this review, we summarize the role of ERFs in general stress tolerance, including responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors, and endeavor to understand the cascade of ERF regulation resulting in successful signal-to-response translation in monocotyledonous plants.
Highlights
The APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) regulates diverse plant responses, from light acclimation (Vogel et al, 2014) to developmental responses such as flower pedicel abscission (Nakano et al, 2014), leaf senescence (Koyama et al, 2013), cell proliferation and shoot branching (Mehrnia et al, 2013)
The AP2/ERF superfamily is characterized by the AP2 domain, a conserved 60–70 amino acid DNA binding domain (DBD), which was initially identified in homeotic genes regulating flower development in Arabidopsis thaliana (Jofuku et al, 1994)
The ERF family is further subdivided into the ERF and the C-repeat-binding factor/dehydrationresponsive-element–binding protein (CBF/DREB) subfamilies based on different conserved amino acid residues within their respective AP2 domains (Sakuma et al, 2002; Nakano et al, 2006; Lata and Prasad, 2011)
Summary
The APETALA2/Ethylene-Responsive Factor (AP2/ERF) superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) regulates physiological, developmental and stress responses. Most of the AP2/ERF TFs belong to the ERF family in both dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants. ERFs are implicated in the responses to both biotic and abiotic stress and occasionally impart multiple stress tolerance. Studies have revealed that ERF gene function is conserved in dicots and monocots. Successful stress tolerance phenotypes are observed on expression in heterologous systems, making ERFs promising candidates for engineering stress tolerance in plants. We summarize the role of ERFs in general stress tolerance, including responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors, and endeavor to understand the cascade of ERF regulation resulting in successful signal-to-response translation in monocotyledonous plants
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