Front cover image:

By combining GWAS and transcriptome analyses with gene-editing techniques, we have identified two S genes, RNG1 and RNG3. In different rice varieties, there is a correlation between the polymorphisms in the 3’-UTR of these genes and their expression levels, are negatively associated with disease resistance. Editing the 3’-UTR or knocking out either of the two genes in rice can improve resistance against both rice blast and bacterial blight. The left side of the figure shows the normal condition, whereas the right side shows the increased resistance after editing RNG1 or RNG3. Cover illustration refers to the article published in this issue (Xu et al., pp. 1628–1641).