Cover image“‘Working German Shepherd dog’, copyright [Swedish Armed Forces], used with kind permission [Swedish Armed Forces]”. For more information, see article 10.1038/s41437-019-0275-2, page 746–758.

Cover image“‘Effect of marker segregation distortion on linkage map construction and QTL mapping in soybean. a–c: linkage maps including very significantly distorted markers, respectively, in allthe recombinant inbred lines (RILs) (a), orthogonal cross RILs (b) and reciprocal cross RILs (c) from the cross between LSZZH and NN493-1. The significantly distorted markers at the 0.05 and 0.01 probability levels were marked by green and red colors, respectively; d: the collinearity of soybean linkage maps with reference genome (Williams 82). Each Spearman correlation coefficient was calculated from 30 markers; e: recombinant fractions of intervals on all the chromosomes. Each chromosome was uniformly partitioned into twenty intervals; f-i: mapping quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for seed linoleic acid content in soybean, measured in Wuhan 2014 (f), Ezhou 2015 (g), Nanjing 2015 (h) and their BLUP values (i), in all the RILs using genome-wide composite interval mapping (GCIM). The linkage maps used in this study included very significantly distorted markers. The stars with blue and red colors indicate the existence of lipid metabolism related genes and the previously reported QTLs around the QTLs detected in this study, respectively’, copyright [Yuan-Ming Zhang, Huazhong Agricultural University], used with kind permission [Yuan-Ming Zhang, Huazhong Agricultural University]”. For more information, see article 10.1038/s41437-019-0238-7, page 579–592.

Cover image “‘Bright orange flowers of the orchid Epidendrum fulgens’, copyright [Fábio Pinheiro, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil], used with kind permission [Fábio Pinheiro, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil]”. For more information, see article 10.1038/s41437-019-0254-7, page 458–469.

“‘Breeding pair of Barn owls (Switzerland)’, copyright Jeremy Bierer, used with kind permission of Jeremy Bierer”. For more information, see article 10.1038/s41437-019-0203-5, page 337.

“‘Three shell colour morphs of the grove snail Cepaea nemoralis’, copyright Daniel Ramos Gonzalez, University of Nottingham, used with kind permission Daniel Ramos Gonzalez, University of Nottingham”. For more information, see article 10.1038/s41437-019-0189-z, page 162.

Special Issue: 100 Years of Genetics

This year marks the centenary of the UK Genetics Society, founded amidst the clash of ideas following the rediscovery of Mendel’s work in the early twentieth century. It’s an important opportunity to refl ect on our progress in understanding the nature of heredity. In this special issue, we celebrate the centenary through the ideas of its Presidents, past and present. They weren’t given much of a brief - just a platform to discuss their work, and that of others, their many joys, and their thoughts of the past and for the future. The result is a hugely enjoyable and distinctive collection of articles that poses many new questions.

Guest editor: Alison Woollard, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford