About the Cover
On the Cover: In the current focus issue on plant nutrition, Scheible et al. (pp. 2483-2499) used a combinatorial approach to investigate the genes and processes that respond to N starvation and to nitrate readdition in Arabidopsis. Full-genome Affymetrix ATH1 arrays and a novel resource for real-time RT-PCR profiling of more than 1,400 putative transcription factor genes were used to obtain gene expression data. The explosive increase of data generated with gene chip technology is symbolized by the background, which was generated from an ATH1 array scan in Adobe Photoshop. The ATH1 array data masses were distilled and interpreted using MapMan, a novel open-access software tool that displays responses of genes onto diagrams of biological function (a metabolic overview cartoon is shown in the center) and thus helps to identify coordinated, system-wide changes in metabolism and other cellular processes. Since changes in transcript levels do not, on their own, provide evidence that the encoded proteins have changed, let alone that the relevant metabolic pathway or biological process has been affected, the authors also used metabolite analyses (symbolized by the HPLC profiles) to verify the relevance of the transcript changes observed. The cover art was created by Wolf-Rüdiger Scheible with help from Josef Bergstein, Oliver Thimm, Regina Feil, and Christina Fritz.
[Table of Contents]
Copyright © 2007 by the American Society of Plant Biologists
