In the biosynthetic pathway of jasmonic acid, the first and most important regulatory step is the lipolytic process. On pages 2191–2209 of this issue, Ishiguro et al. describe the identification of Arabidopsis gene, DEFECTIVE IN ANTHER DEHISCENCE 1 (DAD1), which encodes this lipolytic enzyme. The cover is a flower of the dad1 mutant with anthers that are not dehisced and unable to release pollen grains. The pollen grains inside the anthers are not mature. These phenotypes can be restored by the addition of jasmonic acid or linolenic acid, a precursor of jasmonic acid generated by the lipolytic process.