Research and perspectives on AP2/ERF transcription factors in medicinal plants

Abstract

As a major source of Chinese medicines and traditional drugs worldwide, medicinal plants are facing challenges such as resource scarcity and low bioactive compound content. Regulating gene expression by transcription factors (TFs) is an effective method to coordinate the development of medicinal plants and the biosynthesis of active compounds. Therefore, many researches have been focused on TFs. As one of the largest transcription factor families, AP2/ERF TFs contain at least one AP2 DNA binding domain. This gene family is divided into five subfamilies, namely AP2 (APETALA2), ERF (ethylene-responsive factor), DREB (dehydration-responsive element binding proteins), RAV (related to ABI3/VP1) and Soloist. This review emphasizes that AP2/ERF TFs regulate the biosynthesis of active compounds, development and stress responses of medicinal plants. The regulatory mechanism and research methods for AP2/ERF TFs are also elaborated. Genomics, transcriptomics, and bioinformatics are proposed to be powerful tools for isolation, screening and prediction of AP2/ERF TFs. This review may serve as a guide for future studies on unknown AP2/ERF TFs. In the future, knowledge of the functions and regulatory mechanisms of AP2/ERF TFs may contribute to the enhancement of bioactive compound production by metabolic engineering and the breeding of fine varieties of medicinal plants. Such work would help to address the growing global demand for natural medicines.