About the Cover
On the Cover: Basil plants, like other Lamiaceae species, develop several types of glands on the surface of their leaves and flowers. The levels of defensive compounds produced by basil plants have been shown to be correlated with the number of surface glands. Gang et al. (pp. 539-555) show that secondary metabolites of the phenylpropanoid class, as well as terpenes, are stored in a type of gland termed "peltate." Furthermore, levels of enzymes involved in the synthesis of these compounds, as well as mRNAs encoding these enzymes, are much higher in the peltate glands than elsewhere in the leaf tissue, suggesting that these compounds are also synthesized in these glands.
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Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
