Research progress on the AP2/ERF transcription factor in plants

AP2/ERF (APETALA2/ethylene-responsive factor), a transcription factor superfamily, is widely presented in plants, which contain 1-2 AP2/ERF domains consisting of approximately 60 amino acids. According to the number of AP2/ERF domains and the binding sequence, AP2/ERF can be divided into five subfamilies: AP2 (APETALA2), ERF (ethylene-responsive factor), DREB (dehydration-responsive element-binding protein), RAV (related to ABI3/VP1), and Soloist. This transcription factor family plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development as well as the response of plants to stress, including floral development, fruit and seed maturation, pathogen defense, drought and salinity responses, and so on. This review summarizes the recent research progress concerning the structure, classification, and biological function of the AP2/ERF transcription factor.