ABSTRACT
The APETALA2/ethylene response (AP2/ERF) play a significant role in plant responses to several abiotic stresses that have inspired many studies on genome-wide analysis of the AP2/ERF in several plant species. There is great diversity of tolerance to extreme low and high temperatures among plant species. The lowest temperature at which a plant can survive is genetically controlled and is often affected by many factors. Under inductive low temperatures in the fall, plants are acclimated to develop freezing tolerance and accumulation of effective chilling hours is stimulated. Comparative transcriptome analysis of a low-chilling requirement pear and a high-chilling requirement pear suggest that the AP2/ERF transcription factors are involved in endo-dormancy maintenance and in the transition from endo-dormancy to eco-dormancy. For some deciduous Prunus fruit crops, Dormancy associated mads-box are primary candidate genes that play a significant role in plant dormancy responses and chilling requirements.
