Cover Caption:
The URO gene and lignin deposit Deposition of legnin during the formation of the secondary cell wall gives rise to te rigidness of the wall, and the hardness of the wood. The content of lignin in the cell wall matters greatly to the paper and bioenergy industry. Yuan et al. (1754–1762) reports in this issue the phenotypes of an Arabidopsis gain-of-function mutant called uro, which has dramatically reduced lignification in the stem, as compared with that in wild-type (as seen on the cover). The uro mutant provides a useful tool for characterizing secondary growth in plants.[Detail] ...