In the whole life process, many factors including external and internal factors affect plant growth and development. The morphogenesis, growth, and development of plants are controlled by genetic elements and are influenced by environmental stress. Transcription factors contain one or more specific DNA-binding domains, which are essential in the whole life cycle of higher plants. The AP2/ERF (APETALA2/ethylene-responsive element binding factors) transcription factors are a large group of factors that are mainly found in plants. The transcription factors of this family serve as important regulators in many biological and physiological processes, such as plant morphogenesis, responsive mechanisms to various stresses, hormone signal transduction, and metabolite regulation. In this review, we summarized the advances in identification, classification, function, regulatory mechanisms, and the evolution of AP2/ERF transcription factors in plants. AP2/ERF family factors are mainly classified into four major subfamilies: DREB (Dehydration Responsive Element-Binding), ERF (Ethylene-Responsive-Element-Binding protein), AP2 (APETALA2) and RAV (Related to ABI3/VP), and Soloists (few unclassified factors). The review summarized the reports about multiple regulatory functions of AP2/ERF transcription factors in plants. In addition to growth regulation and stress responses, the regulatory functions of AP2/ERF in plant metabolite biosynthesis have been described. We also discussed the roles of AP2/ERF transcription factors in different phytohormone-mediated signaling pathways in plants. Genomic-wide analysis indicated that AP2/ERF transcription factors were highly conserved during plant evolution. Some public databases containing the information of AP2/ERF have been introduced. The studies of AP2/ERF factors will provide important bases for plant regulatory mechanisms and molecular breeding.

在整个生命过程中，许多因素（包括外部和内部因素）都会影响植物的生长发育。植物的形态发生，生长和发育受遗传因素控制，并受环境胁迫的影响。转录因子包含一个或多个特定的DNA结合域，这在高等植物的整个生命周期中都是必不可少的。AP2 / ERF（APETALA2 /乙烯反应元件结合因子）转录因子是一大类主要在植物中发现的因子。该家族的转录因子在许多生物学和生理过程中起着重要的调节作用，例如植物形态发生，对各种胁迫的响应机制，激素信号转导和代谢产物调节。在这篇评论中，我们总结了识别，分类，功能，调节机制和植物中AP2 / ERF转录因子的进化。AP2 / ERF家族因子主要分为四个主要亚家族：DREB（脱水反应性元素结合），ERF（乙烯反应性元素结合蛋白），AP2（APETALA2）和RAV（与ABI3 / VP相关）和独奏者（一些未分类的因素）。综述总结了有关植物中AP2 / ERF转录因子多种调控功能的报道。除了生长调节和胁迫响应外，还描述了AP2 / ERF在植物代谢产物生物合成中的调节功能。我们还讨论了AP2 / ERF转录因子在植物激素介导的不同信号通路中的作用。全基因组分析表明，AP2 / ERF转录因子在植物进化过程中高度保守。已经引入了一些包含AP2 / ERF信息的公共数据库。AP2 / ERF因子的研究将为植物调控机制和分子育种提供重要基础。