Cover Caption: Rice Anther Development

At the early stage of rice flower development, the lemma, palea, stamen and pistil primordia are first formed, as shown by the cover picture taken under an electron microscope. The stamen primordia further develop into mature anthers, with viable pollen inside. In this issue, Guo and Liu (pp. 967–978) summarize recent advances in molecular genetic studies of rice anther development and male fertility/sterility control. Research in this field has significant implications in rice genetic improvement.