On the cover: During spring, the growth responses of temperate bamboo plants include the emergence of new shoots, which eventually undergo rapid elongation. However, it remains unclear how bamboo responds to environmental change, particularly during the initial stages of stem elongation. The transcriptomics and hormone profiling of newly elongating bamboo shoots by Gamuyao et al. (pp. 702–716) reveals insights into how they emerge and elongate in the spring season; the hormonal status appears to convey positional information influencing site-specific differential expression of transcripts that are associated with the growth and differentiation of bamboo shoots.

The cover image shows sections of bamboo shoots before and at various later developmental stages of stem elongation. Image supplied by Keisuke Nagai (Nagoya University, Bioscience and Biotechnology Center).