About the Cover
The carpel is the female reproductive organ of flowering plants. In Arabidopsis, the margins of each
carpel are meristematic in nature and give rise to ovules and associated marginal tissues. On pages
18791891 of this issue, Liu et al. demonstrate that LEUNIG and AINTEGUMENTA are two
key regulators of placenta, ovule, and marginal tissue development. The crucial role of
LEUNIG and AINTEGUMENTA in the formation of these reproductive tissues is only shown
when the activities of both genes are eliminated simultaneously. Shown on the cover is scanning
electron microscopy of a leunig aintegumenta double mutant flower in which the placentas,
ovules, styles, stigma, and septa are completely absent.
[Table of Contents]
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
