Role of ethylene in regulating physiological and molecular aspects of plants under abiotic stress

Plants are constantly exposed to different stressful environmental challenges that affect many of their genetic and biomolecular traits. To cope with these circumstances, plants should be able to recognize, respond, and adapt to such environmental changes. The signal transduction pathway and its related genes play a significant role in plants' reactions to environmental stimulants. In general, stresses induce a domain of physiological and biochemical responses in plants. One of the important signal pathways activated in plants during the occurrence of stress, which can partially regulate the effects of the stress by communicating with other biological paths, is the ethylene biosynthesis pathway. The ethylene response factors (ERFs) are proteins from the AP2/ERF family that belong to the largest known transcription factor family during multiple abiotic stresses such as dehydration and flooding, salinity, and heat with well-conserved DNA-binding domain. Recent extensive studies have indicated the connection between ethylene's signaling pathways and the majority of environmental stresses. Ethylene signaling at various levels including membrane receptors regulates the components of cytoplasm and nuclear transcription factors in the stresses' pathways. Consequently, examining these signal pathways and the ethylene's interaction as an antistress hormone with other hormones and phytohormones can be a significant step toward preventing the damages done by stress to agricultural and horticultural products.