ERF-VII members exhibit synergistic and separate roles in Arabidopsis

Abstract

The ethylene response factor VII (ERF-VII) transcription factor has been reported to be involved in multiple different stress responses. In a previous study, we showed that ERF74 and ERF75 play a redundant role in the upregulation of RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG D (RbohD) transcription and enhance the oxygen species (ROS) burst during early stages of the stress response. Induction of stress marker genes and ROS-scavenging enzymes under various stress conditions are dependent on this ROS burst. Here, we propose an assumption that ERF71-ERF75 have different functions and act synergistically in response to stresses in Arabidopsis. ERF74 and ERF75 are involved in controlling an RbohD-dependent mechanism in response to different stresses, subsequently maintaining H2O2 homeostasis in Arabidopsis as we previously reported. ERF71 and ERF73 may have a role in supervising plant intracellular ROS homeostasis, whereas ERF72 may only act as an activator of ERF74 and ERF75 in the stress response.