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A novel member of the AP2/ERF transcription factor family, SlERF5, was identified from a tomato mature leaf cDNA library screen. The complete DNA sequence of SlERF5 encodes a putative 244-amino acid DNA-binding protein which most likely acts as a transcriptional regulator and is a member of the ethylene responsive factor (ERF) superfamily. Analysis of the deduced SlERF5 protein sequence showed that it contained an ERF domain and belonged to the class III group of ERFs proteins. Expression of SlERF5 was induced by abiotic stress, such as high salinity, drought, flooding, wounding and cold temperatures. Over-expression of SlERF5 in transgenic tomato plants resulted in high tolerance to drought and salt stress and increased levels of relative water content compared with wild-type plants. This study indicates that SlERF5 is mainly involved in the responses to abiotic stress in tomato.