Genome-wide identification and expression analysis reveal the potential function of ethylene responsive factor gene family in response to Botrytis cinerea infection and ovule development in grapes (Vitis vinifera L.)

Secondary metabolites in grapevine: crosstalk of transcriptional, metabolic and hormonal signals controlling stress defence responses in berries and vegetative organs

Abiotic stresses, such as temperature, heat waves, water limitation, solar radiation and the increase in atmospheric CO₂ concentration, significantly influence the accumulation of secondary metabolites in grapevine berries at different developmental stages, and in vegetative organs. Transcriptional reprogramming, miRNAs, epigenetic marks and hormonal crosstalk regulate the secondary metabolism of berries, mainly the accumulation of phenylpropanoids and of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Currently, the biological mechanisms that control the plastic response of grapevine cultivars to environmental stress or that occur during berry ripening have been extensively studied in many worlds viticultural areas, in different cultivars and in vines grown under various agronomic managements. A novel frontier in the study of these mechanisms is the involvement of miRNAs whose target transcripts encode enzymes of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway. Some miRNA-mediated regulatory cascades, post-transcriptionally control key MYB transcription factors, showing, for example, a role in influencing the anthocyanin accumulation in response to UV-B light during berry ripening. DNA methylation profiles partially affect the berry transcriptome plasticity of different grapevine cultivars, contributing to the modulation of berry qualitative traits. Numerous hormones (such as abscisic and jasmomic acids, strigolactones, gibberellins, auxins, cytokynins and ethylene) are involved in triggering the vine response to abiotic and biotic stress factors. Through specific signaling cascades, hormones mediate the accumulation of antioxidants that contribute to the quality of the berry and that intervene in the grapevine defense processes, highlighting that the grapevine response to stressors can be similar in different grapevine organs. The expression of genes responsible for hormone biosynthesis is largely modulated by stress conditions, thus resulting in the numeourous interactions between grapevine and the surrounding environment.

Candidate gene discovery of Botrytis cinerea resistance in grapevine based on QTL mapping and RNA-seq

Grape gray mold disease (Botrytis cinerea) is widespread during grape production especially in Vitis vinifera and causes enormous losses to the grape industry. In nature, the grapevine cultivar 'Beta ' (Vitis riparia × Vitis labrusca) showed high resistance to grape gray mold. Until now, the candidate genes and their mechanism of gray mold resistance were poorly understood. In this study, we firstly conducted quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping for grape gray mold resistance based on two hybrid offspring populations that showed wide separation in gray mold resistance. Notably, two stable QTL related to gray mold resistance were detected and located on linkage groups LG2 and LG7. The phenotypic variance ranged from 6.86% to 13.70% on LG2 and 4.40% to 11.40% on LG7. Combined with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), one structural gene VlEDR2 (Vitvi02g00982) and three transcription factors VlERF039 (Vitvi00g00859), VlNAC047 (Vitvi08g01843), and VlWRKY51 (Vitvi07g01847) that may be involved in VlEDR2 expression and grape gray mold resistance were selected. This discovery of candidate gray mold resistance genes will provide an important theoretical reference for grape gray mold resistance mechanisms, research, and gray mold-resistant grape cultivar breeding in the future.

The transcription factors VaERF16 and VaMYB306 interact to enhance resistance of grapevine to Botrytis cinerea infection

Botrytis cinerea is a fungus that infects cultivated grape (Vitis vinifera); the identification and characterization of resistance mechanisms in the host is of great importance for the grape industry. Here, we report that a transcription factor in the ethylene-responsive factor (ERF) family (VaERF16) from Chinese wild grape (Vitis amurensis 'Shuang You') is expressed during B. cinerea infection and in response to treatments with the hormones ethylene and methyl jasmonate. Heterologous overexpression of VaERF16 in Arabidopsis thaliana substantially enhanced resistance to B. cinerea and the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 via the salicylic acid and jasmonate/ethylene signalling pathways. Yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and co-immunoprecipitation assays indicated that VaERF16 interacts with the MYB family transcription factor VaMYB306. Overexpression of VaERF16 or VaMYB306 in grape leaves increased resistance to B. cinerea and caused an up-regulation of the defence-related gene PDF1.2, which encodes a defensin-like protein. Conversely, silencing of either gene resulted in increased susceptibility to B. cinerea. Yeast one-hybrid and dual-luciferase assays indicated that VaERF16 increased the transcript levels of VaPDF1.2 by binding directly to the GCC box in its promoter. Notably, VaMYB306 alone did not bind to the VaPDF1.2 promoter, but the VaERF16-VaMYB306 transcriptional complex resulted in higher transcript levels of VaPDF1.2, suggesting that the proteins function through their mutual interaction. Elucidation of this regulatory module may be of value in enhancing resistance of grapevine to B. cinerea infection.

Contrasting Roles of Ethylene Response Factors in Pathogen Response and Ripening in Fleshy Fruit

Fleshy fruits are generally hard and unpalatable when unripe; however, as they mature, their quality is transformed by the complex and dynamic genetic and biochemical process of ripening, which affects all cell compartments. Ripening fruits are enriched with nutrients such as acids, sugars, vitamins, attractive volatiles and pigments and develop a pleasant taste and texture and become attractive to eat. Ripening also increases sensitivity to pathogens, and this presents a crucial problem for fruit postharvest transport and storage: how to enhance pathogen resistance while maintaining ripening quality. Fruit development and ripening involve many changes in gene expression regulated by transcription factors (TFs), some of which respond to hormones such as auxin, abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene. Ethylene response factor (ERF) TFs regulate both fruit ripening and resistance to pathogen stresses. Different ERFs regulate fruit ripening and/or pathogen responses in both fleshy climacteric and non-climacteric fruits and function cooperatively or independently of other TFs. In this review, we summarize the current status of studies on ERFs that regulate fruit ripening and responses to infection by several fungal pathogens, including a systematic ERF transcriptome analysis of fungal grey mould infection of tomato caused by Botrytis cinerea. This deepening understanding of the function of ERFs in fruit ripening and pathogen responses may identify novel approaches for engineering transcriptional regulation to improve fruit quality and pathogen resistance.

Overexpression of ZmEREBP60 enhances drought tolerance in maize

Apetala2/ethylene response factor (AP2/ERF) family of transcription factors plays important roles in plant development and stress responses. However, few members of this family have been functionally and mechanistically characterised in maize. In this study, we characterised a member of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family, ZmEREBP60 from maize. Amino acid sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis showed that ZmEREBP60 belongs to cluster I of the AP2/ERF family. qRT-PCR analysis indicated that ZmEREBP60 expression was highly induced by drought in the roots, coleoptiles, and leaves. Subcellular localisation analysis revealed that ZmEREBP60 was localised in the nucleus. Moreover, overexpression of ZmEREBP60 enhanced tolerance to drought stress while alleviating the drought-induced increase in H₂O₂ accumulation and malondialdehyde content in transgenic lines. Transcriptome analysis showed that ZmEREBP60 regulates the expression of genes involved in H₂O₂ catabolism, water deprivation response, and abscisic acid signalling pathway. Collectively, as a new member of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family in maize, ZmEREBP60 is a positive regulator of plant drought response.

Function Analysis of the ERF and DREB Subfamilies in Tomato Fruit Development and Ripening

APETALA2/ethylene responsive factors (AP2/ERF) are unique regulators in the plant kingdom and are involved in the whole life activity processes such as development, ripening, and biotic and abiotic stresses. In tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), there are 140 AP2/ERF genes; however, their functionality remains poorly understood. In this work, the 14th and 19th amino acid differences in the AP2 domain were used to distinguish DREB and ERF subfamily members. Even when the AP2 domain of 68 ERF proteins from 20 plant species and motifs in tomato DREB and ERF proteins were compared, the binding ability of DREB and ERF proteins with DRE/CRT and/or GCC boxes remained unknown. During fruit development and ripening, the expressions of 13 DREB and 19 ERF subfamily genes showed some regular changes, and the promoters of most genes had ARF, DRE/CRT, and/or GCC boxes. This suggests that these genes directly or indirectly respond to IAA and/or ethylene (ET) signals during fruit development and ripening. Moreover, some of these may feedback regulate IAA or ET biosynthesis. In addition, 16 EAR motif-containing ERF genes in tomato were expressed in many organs and their total transcripts per million (TPM) values exceeded those of other ERF genes in most organs. To determine whether the EAR motif in EAR motif-containing ERF proteins has repression function, their EAR motifs were retained or deleted in a yeast one-hybrid (YIH) assay. The results indicate that most of EAR motif-containing ERF proteins lost repression activity after deleting the EAR motif. Moreover, some of these were expressed during ripening. Thus, these EAR motif-containing ERF proteins play vital roles in balancing the regulatory functions of other ERF proteins by completing the DRE/CRT and/or GCC box sites of target genes to ensure normal growth and development in tomato.

Genome-wide characterization of the sorghum JAZ gene family and their responses to phytohormone treatments and aphid infestation

Jasmonate ZIM-domain (JAZ) proteins are the key repressors of the jasmonic acid (JA) signal transduction pathway and play a crucial role in stress-related defense, phytohormone crosstalk and modulation of the growth-defense tradeoff. In this study, the sorghum genome was analyzed through genome-wide comparison and domain scan analysis, which led to the identification of 18 sorghum JAZ (SbJAZ) genes. All SbJAZ proteins possess the conserved TIFY and Jas domains and they formed a phylogenetic tree with five clusters related to the orthologs of other plant species. Similarly, evolutionary analysis indicated the duplication events as a major force of expansion of the SbJAZ genes and there was strong neutral and purifying selection going on. In silico analysis of the promoter region of the SbJAZ genes indicates that SbJAZ5, SbJAZ6, SbJAZ13, SbJAZ16 and SbJAZ17 are rich in stress-related cis-elements. In addition, expression profiling of the SbJAZ genes in response to phytohormones treatment (JA, ET, ABA, GA) and sugarcane aphid (SCA) was performed in two recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of sorghum, resistant (RIL 521) and susceptible (RIL 609) to SCA. Taken together, data generated from phytohormone expression and in silico analysis suggests the putative role of SbJAZ9 in JA-ABA crosstalk and SbJAZ16 in JA-ABA and JA-GA crosstalk to regulate certain physiological processes. Notably, upregulation of SbJAZ1, SbJAZ5, SbJAZ13 and SbJAZ16 in resistant RIL during JA treatment and SCA infestation suggests putative functions in stress-related defense and to balance the plant defense to promote growth. Overall, this report provides valuable insight into the organization and functional characterization of the sorghum JAZ gene family.

Genome-wide survey and identification of AP2/ERF genes involved in shoot and leaf development in Liriodendron chinense

BACKGROUND

Liriodendron chinense is a distinctive ornamental tree species due to its unique leaves and tulip-like flowers. The discovery of genes involved in leaf development and morphogenesis is critical for uncovering the underlying genetic basis of these traits. Genes in the AP2/ERF family are recognized as plant-specific transcription factors that contribute to plant growth, hormone-induced development, ethylene response factors, and stress responses.

RESULTS

In this study, we identified 104 putative AP2/ERF genes in the recently released L. chinense genome and transcriptome database. In addition, all 104 genes were grouped into four subfamilies, the AP2, ERF, RAV, and Soloist subfamilies. This classification was further supported by the results of gene structure and conserved motif analyses. Intriguingly, after application of a series test of cluster analysis, three AP2 genes, LcERF 94, LcERF 96, and LcERF 98, were identified as tissue-specific in buds based on the expression profiles of various tissues. These results were further validated via RT-qPCR assays and were highly consistent with the STC analysis. We further investigated the dynamic changes of immature leaves by dissecting fresh shoots into seven discontinuous periods, which were empirically identified as shoot apical meristem (SAM), leaf primordia and tender leaf developmental stages according to the anatomic structure. Subsequently, these three candidates were highly expressed in SAM and leaf primordia but rarely in tender leaves, indicating that they were mainly involved in early leaf development and morphogenesis. Moreover, these three genes displayed nuclear subcellular localizations through the transient transformation of tobacco epidermal cells.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, we identified 104 AP2/ERF family members at the genome-wide level and discerned three candidate genes that might participate in the development and morphogenesis of the leaf primordium in L. chinense.

Characterization of germline development and identification of genes associated with germline specification in pineapple

Understanding germline specification in plants could be advantageous for agricultural applications. In recent decades, substantial efforts have been made to understand germline specification in several plant species, including Arabidopsis, rice, and maize. However, our knowledge of germline specification in many agronomically important plant species remains obscure. Here, we characterized the female germline specification and subsequent female gametophyte development in pineapple using callose staining, cytological, and whole-mount immunolocalization analyses. We also determined the male germline specification and gametophyte developmental timeline and observed male meiotic behavior using chromosome spreading assays. Furthermore, we identified 229 genes that are preferentially expressed at the megaspore mother cell (MMC) stage during ovule development and 478 genes that are preferentially expressed at the pollen mother cell (PMC) stage of anther development using comparative transcriptomic analysis. The biological functions, associated regulatory pathways and expression patterns of these genes were also analyzed. Our study provides a convenient cytological reference for exploring pineapple germline development and a molecular basis for the future functional analysis of germline specification in related plant species.

Transcriptional differentiation driving Cucumis sativus-Botrytis cinerea interactions based on the Skellam model and Bayesian networks

Robust statistical tools such as the Skellam model and Bayesian networks can capture the count properties of transcriptome sequencing data and clusters of genes among treatments, thereby improving our knowledge of gene functions and networks. In this study, we successfully implemented a model to analyze a transcriptome dataset of Cucumis sativus and Botrytis cinerea before and after their interaction. First, 4200 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from C. sativus were clustered into 17 distinct groups, and 670 DEGs from B. cinerea were clustered into 12 groups. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses were applied on these DEGs to assess the interactions between C. sativus and B. cinerea. In C. sativus, more DEGs were divided into terms in the molecular function and biological process domains than into cellular components, and 277 DEGs were allocated to 19 KEGG pathways. In B. cinerea, more DEGs were divided into terms in the biological process and cellular component domains than into molecular functions, and 150 DEGs were allocated to 26 KEGG pathways. In this study, we constructed networks of genes that interact with each other to screen hub genes based on a directed graphical model known as Bayesian networks. Through a detailed GO analysis, we excavated hub genes which were biologically meaningful. These results verify that availability of Skellam model and Bayesian networks in clustering gene expression data and sorting out hub genes. These models are instrumental in increasing our knowledge of gene functions and networks in plant–pathogen interaction.

Morphological observation and protein expression of fertile and abortive ovules in Castanea mollissima

Chinese chestnuts (Castanea mollissima Blume.) contain 12-18 ovules in one ovary, but only one ovule develops into a seed, indicating a high ovule abortion rate. In this study, the Chinese chestnut 'Huaihuang' was used to explore the possible mechanisms of ovule abortion with respect to morphology and proteomics. The morphology and microstructure of abortive ovules were found to be considerably different from those of fertile ovules at 20 days after anthesis (20 DAA). The fertile ovules had completely formed tissues, such as the embryo sac, embryo and endosperm. By contrast, in the abortive ovules, there were no embryo sacs, and wide spaces between the integuments were observed, with few nucelli. Fluorescence labelling of the nuclei and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) observations showed that cells of abortive ovules were abnormally shaped and had thickened cell walls, folded cell membranes, condensed cytoplasm, ruptured nuclear membranes, degraded nucleoli and reduced mitochondria. The iTRAQ (isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantitation) results showed that in the abortive ovules, low levels of soluble protein with small molecular weights were found, and most of differently expressed proteins (DEPs) were related to protein synthesis, accumulation of active oxygen free radical, energy synthesis and so on. These DEPs might be associated with abnormal ovules formation.

NAC domain gene VvNAC26 interacts with VvMADS9 and influences seed and fruit development

Grapevine (Vitis vinifera), as one of the potential gardening fruit have important economic and nutritional values. Seedless grapes are popular due to their convenience and excellent taste. As multifunctional proteins, the NAC family involves hormonal pathways, plant aging, and biological stress. However, reports of NAC affecting seed development are rare. Here, the role of grapevine VvNAC26 in regulating fruit ripening and seed size was characterized. There were remarkable differences in the expression of VvNAC26 in seeded and seedless grape varieties during ovule development. The exogenous transformation of VvNAC26 in tomato decreased the cells size of pericarp, fruits and seeds. In addition, led to cotyledon cells arranged more closely and narrowly and obviously decreased seeds at the fruit ripening stage. The tomato fruit of transgenic lines was darker red and underwent color conversion earlier than that of the wild type in the same period. Furthermore, the expression of some genes associated with hormone and fruit development was changed in overexpressed lines. Yeast two-hybrid and BiFC assays showed that VvNAC26 interacted with VvMADS9. In conclusion, these results suggest that VvNAC26 may regulate fruit and seed development by influencing multiple hormone pathways and interacting with VvMADS9 in grape. VvNAC26 may also serve as a candidate for future understanding of the potential regulatory mechanism of seed development and molecular breeding in grapevine.

Transcriptome Analysis of the Grape-Elsinoë ampelina Pathosystem Reveals Novel Effectors and a Robust Defense Response

Elsinoë ampelina is an ascomycetous fungus that causes grape anthracnose, a potentially devastating disease worldwide. In this study, a dual RNA-seq analysis was used to simultaneously monitor the fungal genes related to pathogenesis and grape genes related to defense during the interaction at 2, 3, 4, and 5 days postinoculation. Consistent with their potential roles in pathogenicity, genes for carbohydrate-active enzymes, secondary metabolite synthesis, pathogen-host interaction, and those encoding secreted proteins are upregulated during infection. Based on Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient assays in Nicotiana benthamiana, we further showed that eight and nine candidate effectors, respectively, suppressed BAX- and INF1-mediated programmed cell death. The host response was characterized by the induction of multiple defense systems against E. ampelina, including synthesis of phenylpropanoids, stilbenes, and terpenoid biosynthesis, cell-wall modifications, regulation by phytohormones, and expression of defense-related genes. Together, these findings offer new insights into molecular mechanisms underlying the grape-E. ampelina interaction.[Formula: see text] Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

GelFAP: Gene Functional Analysis Platform for Gastrodia elata

Gastrodia elata, also named Tianma, is a valuable traditional Chinese herbal medicine. It has numerous important pharmacological roles such as in sedation and lowering blood pressure and as anticonvulsant and anti-aging, and it also has effects on the immune and cardiovascular systems. The whole genome sequencing of G. elata has been completed in recent years, which provides a strong support for the construction of the G. elata gene functional analysis platform. Therefore, in our research, we collected and processed 39 transcriptome data of G. elata and constructed the G. elata gene co-expression networks, then we identified functional modules by the weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) package. Furthermore, gene families of G. elata were identified by tools including HMMER, iTAK, PfamScan, and InParanoid. Finally, we constructed a gene functional analysis platform for G. elata . In our platform, we introduced functional analysis tools such as BLAST, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), and cis-elements (motif) enrichment analysis tool. In addition, we analyzed the co-expression relationship of genes which might participate in the biosynthesis of gastrodin and predicted 19 mannose-binding lectin antifungal proteins of G. elata. We also introduced the usage of the G. elata gene function analysis platform (GelFAP) by analyzing CYP51G1 and GFAP4 genes. Our platform GelFAP may help researchers to explore the gene function of G. elata and make novel discoveries about key genes involved in the biological processes of gastrodin.

The Effect of Ethylene on the Color Change and Resistance to Botrytis cinerea Infection in 'Kyoho' Grape Fruits

The formation of grape quality and the mechanism of resistance against foreign pathogens affect the storage stability of fruits during post-harvest handling. Ethylene plays a crucial role in regulating the ripeness of fruits and can be used as an exogenous regulator to resist exogenous pathogens. In this study, we used different concentrations of ethephon for treatment of grape fruits before veraison, analyzed the anthocyanin content, soluble solids, titratable acid, and determined fruit firmness and cell wall metabolism-related enzymes during fruit development. Results showed that exogenous ethephon promoted the early coloration of grape fruits and increased the coloring-related genes myeloblastosis A1(MYBA1), myeloblastosis A2(MYBA2), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavanone 3-hydroxylase (F3H), flavonoid 3’-hydroxylase gene (F3’H), flavonoid 3’, 5’hydroxylase (F3’5’H), 3-O-flavonoid glucosyltransferase (UFGT), and glutathione S-transferase (GST), softening related genes Polygalacturonase(PG), pectinate lyases(PL) and Pectin methylesterase( PME, as well as ethylene metabolism pathway-related genes 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid synthase 1(ACS1), 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase 2 (ACO2), ethylene receptor gene(ETR2), and ethylene-insensitive 3 (EIN3). Ethephon treatment also increased soluble solids and decreased titratable acid in grape fruit. Fruits pretreated with ethephon were inoculated with Botrytis cinerea, which led to resistance in grape fruit through activation of the antioxidant system. The expression levels of disease resistance-related genes including VvPAD4, VvPIP1, VvNAC26, VvDREB, VvAPX, Vvpgip, VvWRKY70, VvMYC2, VvNPR1 also increased in inoculated fruit with pathogen following ethephon pretreatment. Furthermore, we monitored ethylene response factor 1(ERF1) transcription factor, which could interact with protein EIN3 during ethylene signal transduction and mediate fruit resistance against B. cinerea infection. Meanwhile, overexpression of VvERF1 vectorin strawberry fruits reduced the susceptibility to B. cinerea infection. We suggest that ethylene can induce resistance in ripened fruits after B. cinerea infection and provide adequate postharvest care.

Heterologous expression of Chinese wild grapevine VqERFs in Arabidopsis thaliana enhance resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 and to Botrytis cinerea

When a plant is attacked by a pathogen, an immune response is activated to help protect it from harm. ERF transcription factors have been reported to regulate immune responses in plants. Here, three ERF transcription factors from Chinese wild Vitis quinquangularis, VqERF112, VqERF114 and VqERF072, are shown to respond to pathogen inoculation by powdery mildew, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) DC3000 and Botrytis cinerea and to hormone treatments including with ET, SA, MeJA or ABA. Tissue specific expression analysis shows the highest expression levels of VqERF112 and VqERF114 were in mature berries and of VqERF072 was in tendrils. A GUS activity assay indicates that the promoters of VqERF112, VqERF114 and VqERF072 can be induced by powdery mildew inoculation and by hormone treatment, including with ET, SA and MeJA. Overexpression of VqERF112, VqERF114 and VqERF072 in transgenic Arabidopsis enhanced the resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000) and B. cinerea, and it increased the expression of the SA signaling-related genes AtNPR1 and AtPR1 and of the JA/ET signaling-related genes AtPDF1.2, AtLOX3, AtPR3 and AtPR4. Compared to Col-0 plants, the H₂O₂ accumulation in transgenic Arabidopsis increased after Pst DC3000 inoculation but decreased after B. cinerea inoculation. These results demonstrate that VqERF112, VqERF114 and VqERF072 positively regulate resistance to Pst DC3000 and B. cinerea.

Transcription Factors Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance and Their Potential for Crops Improvement

In field conditions, crops are adversely affected by a wide range of abiotic stresses including drought, cold, salt, and heat, as well as biotic stresses including pests and pathogens. These stresses can have a marked effect on crop yield. The present and future effects of climate change necessitate the improvement of crop stress tolerance. Plants have evolved sophisticated stress response strategies, and genes that encode transcription factors (TFs) that are master regulators of stress-responsive genes are excellent candidates for crop improvement. Related examples in recent studies include TF gene modulation and overexpression approaches in crop species to enhance stress tolerance. However, much remains to be discovered about the diverse plant TFs. Of the >80 TF families, only a few, such as NAC, MYB, WRKY, bZIP, and ERF/DREB, with vital roles in abiotic and biotic stress responses have been intensively studied. Moreover, although significant progress has been made in deciphering the roles of TFs in important cereal crops, fewer TF genes have been elucidated in sorghum. As a model drought-tolerant crop, sorghum research warrants further focus. This review summarizes recent progress on major TF families associated with abiotic and biotic stress tolerance and their potential for crop improvement, particularly in sorghum. Other TF families and non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression are discussed briefly. Despite the emphasis on sorghum, numerous examples from wheat, rice, maize, and barley are included. Collectively, the aim of this review is to illustrate the potential application of TF genes for stress tolerance improvement and the engineering of resistant crops, with an emphasis on sorghum.