2020年3月plant physiology 封面展示了一个拟南芥突变体的表型，该拟南芥突变体由于质体和过氧化物酶体内ACS和ACN1两个功能具有部分重叠的基因突变导致体内无法维持乙酸平衡。这些拟南芥突变体不育、生长缓慢、150天的常绿表型并且体内乙酸浓度非常高。¹³C同位素实验表明由于以上2个基因的突变使得拟南芥体内乙酸无法在质体和过氧化物酶体中声称乙酰辅酶A的相关代谢物。（美国艾奥瓦州立大学)

On the Cover: The cover image illustrates the phenotype that develops when Arabidopsis plants cannot maintain acetate homeostasis because of simultaneous mutations in two genes coding for acetate-activating enzymes, one located in plastids (ACS) and the other located in peroxisomes (ACN1). These plants are sterile, grow slower and stay green for more than 150-days, and hyperaccumulate acetate at the expense of metabolites generated from acetyl-CoA. These attributes are based on ¹³C-stable isotope labeling experiments, indicated by the “yellow hat” on the acetate molecule. The 13C-labeled acetate is trafficked to either the plastids by ACS catalysis or peroxisomes by ACN1 catalysis, generating different pools of acetyl-CoA derived metabolites. Although these two enzymes can compensate for each other, the double mutant plants that lack both enzymes generate the aberrant phenotype, which establishes the importance of regulating acetate metabolism in plants. Cover image credits: Xinyu Fu, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa.