Cover photograph (Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.): The intracellular ppGpp level is finely tuned by the EshA protein, which is distributed widely among Streptomyces spp. and certain other genera, including Frankia and Nostoc. In Streptomyces coelicolor, disruption of the eshA gene results in elimination of the ability to produce the blue-pigmented antibiotic actinorhodin, as shown in the photo. EshA contains a cyclic AMP-binding domain that is essential for its role in triggering actinorhodin production. EshA may provide new insights and opportunities to unravel the molecular signaling events that occur at the onset of stationary phase in these physiologically and morphologically complex organisms. (See related article on page 4952.)