Cover

Abstract

On the cover

Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) is a short-day plant. A single-base deletion (SBD) in the coding region of InCO/IhCO causes a frameshift mutation, which is presumed to result in a loss of function in the TKS allele, inco-1. Accessions carrying inco-1 tend to flower earlier than those carrying InCO-2. Based on its geographical distribution, the SBD in inco-1 may have contributed to the expansion of I. nil, originally native to tropical regions of the Americas, into temperate regions of Asia. The photograph below the world map shows the cultivation of I. nil accessions maintained by the National BioResource Project (NBRP) (This issue, p. 339–348).

(T. Kuboyama: College of Agriculture, Ibaraki University)