Potential use of the DREB/ERF, MYB, NAC and WRKY transcription factors to improve abiotic and biotic stress in transgenic plants

Abiotic and biotic stresses adversely affect the growth and productivity of plants and constitute the major yield-limiting factor in agriculture. In recent years, several transcription factors (TF) have been identified that can function as switches to control the expression of potential stress-related genes. These transcription factors play crucial roles in governing transcriptional reprogramming during development in plant biological systems and are also capable of increasing the tolerance of plants to abiotic and biotic stresses. Thus, identifying and characterizing critical genes that are involved in plant stress responses are essential for the development of transgenic plants that exhibit enhanced stress tolerance. This review describes the DREB/ERF, MYB, NAC and WRKY TF and summarizes the studies that highlight their potential in engineering abiotic and biotic stress tolerance in transgenic plants.