Abstract: Endoplasmic reticulum（ER）is an important organelle in eukaryotic cells where all the secreted proteins and most of the membrane protein are synthesized. When plants are exposed to various stresses,such as heat and high salinity,unfolded and misfolded proteins are accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum（ER）,which triggers a well-conserved pathway called the unfolded protein response （UPR）to mitigate the ER stress and promote cell survival. In this review,we summarized the current advances in the understanding of the membrane-associated transcription factors and ER stress responses in plants. We also discussed future directions in this field and the potential uses of the ER stress signaling pathway for improving the stress tolerance of plants.

Key words: protein folding, ER stress, unfolded protein response, membrane-associated transcription factor