Australasian Plant Pathology, published six times a year by the Australasian Plant Pathology Society Inc., by CSIRO PUBLISHING, is a citable publication which is abstracted internationally and listed in Current Contents.
Australasian Plant Pathology is an international journal publishing original research in all aspects of plant pathology. Although traditionally the journal has focused on the Australasian region, the diversity of crops, cropping systems, natural ecosystems and environments and their associated problems transcend regional boundaries. Papers related to the pathology of plants in any of these systems will be considered, as will taxonomic papers relevant to pathogens in tropical, subtropical, temperate and Mediterranean climates.
Manuscripts will be considered for publication if they make an original contribution in the above areas. Research articles, research notes, critical reviews, disease notes or new records, disease surveys and quarantine interception reports may be submitted. Manuscripts receive two simultaneous reviews. Manuscripts submitted for publication as Disease Notes or New Records receive only one review in order to speed the publication process.
Submission of a manuscript is taken to mean that the results reported have not been published elsewhere and are not being considered for publication elsewhere. A summary of the findings in the proceedings of a Conference or in an extension article is not necessarily regarded as prior publication. However, if substantial parts of the data, such as those in Tables and Figures, have been published before, the inclusion of extra information may not alter the judgement that the manuscript is not new.
A letter accompanying the manuscript should state that all named authors have agreed to the publication of the work and that the manuscript does not infringe any copyright. A Licence to Publish form, signed by all authors (where possible), should accompany the manuscript.
No charge is made for publication (except for colour plates). Reprints are available and order forms with details of costs will be distributed to authors with proofs.
Detailed guidelines for ALL manuscripts follow.
The Guidelines to Authors is also provided as a PDF file and may be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. This software is free and can be installed from Adobe´s web site. An author checklist is also available as a PDF file.
- Licence to publish
- Manuscripts
- Proofs
- General presentation
- Cover sheet
- Title
- Corresponding author
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Text
- Units
- Enzyme nomenclature
- Chemical nomenclature
- Fungus nomenclature
- Virus nomenclature
- Statistical evaluation of results
- Tables
- Illustrations
- Photographs
- References
- Lodgement of cultures and specimens
- Lodgement of gene sequences
- Research Notes
- Address for submissions
Licence to publish
For details regarding copyright, please see Copyright/Licence to Publish.
Guidelines for research papers, research notes and general or review articles
Manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted directly to the Editor-in-Chief. Authors are encouraged to submit manuscripts electronically if the file sizes are less than 3 Mb. If not submitted electronically, three copies are required by mail. Manuscripts should be prepared as follows; they should be typed with double-spacing throughout and with a margin of at least 3 cm on the left-hand side, on good quality paper. Numbered lines should be used throughout the manuscript if possible. All pages of the manuscript should be numbered consecutively, including those carrying references, tables and captions to illustrations, all of which are to be placed after the text. Each table should be on a separate page and must be referred to in the text. Illustrations, both line drawings and photographs, are to be numbered as figures in a common sequence and each must be referred to in the text. A typed list of captions is required. Clearly lettered copies of original line drawings should form an integral part of each submitted copy of the manuscript. Photocopies of photographs, electron micrographs etc. are not acceptable where it is necessary for reviewers to examine the details of results presented in this way. In this case either submit three sets of originals or one set of originals and two high quality laser photocopies of photographs or composite photographs. Original illustrations will be returned if this is requested at the time that they are submitted.
After final revision, one double-spaced typed copy should be submitted to the Senior Editor handling the manuscript. In addition, the manuscript should be submitted on disc in an IBM PC format. WordPerfect and Microsoft Word are acceptable formats.
Authors should note that if a manuscript is not revised and returned to the appropriate Senior Editor within 180 days of being returned to the author(s), it will be treated as a new manuscript and will be subject to the full review process.
Proofs
Authors should take care in checking proofs. Do not assume that electronic submission prevents ´typesetting´ errors. Final responsibility for the accuracy of the printed version rests with authors.
General presentation
The work should be presented concisely and clearly in English. Introductory material, including a review of the literature, should not exceed what is necessary to indicate the reason for the work and the essential background. Sufficient experimental detail should be given to enable the work to be repeated and the discussion should focus attention on the significance of the results.
Authors are referred to Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edition, 2002, John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd) for conventions to be generally adopted in the preparation of their paper. Authors should consult a recent issue of Australasian Plant Pathology for specific style details.
Cover sheet
The first page must contain the title, authors and the name of the corresponding author with their phone and fax numbers and email address. This facilitates communication, especially at the typesetting stage if queries arise.
Title
The title of the article should be concise and informative. Authorities for scientific names should not be included. Please also include a running title of no more than 50 character spaces.
Corresponding author
The name of the corresponding author should be included under the address(es) of the author(s) and, if available, should be followed by an email address.
Abstract
Abstracts are required for all technical articles. The abstract should preferably be limited to 200 words (50-60 words for research notes and reports of new diseases) and should not just recapitulate the results, but should state concisely the scope of the work and give the principal findings. It should be suitable for direct use by abstracting services. Acronyms, references, and authorities for Latin binomials should be avoided.
Keywords
Below the abstract, under the subheading ´Additional keywords´, list in alphabetical order words or phrases that are not in the title or abstract but would be useful in index retrieval systems.
Text
Major sections in research papers are Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements and References; these should be in bold roman type. Subheadings should be in light italic type with the text starting on the next line. Authorities for Latin binomials are not required and will be deleted unless the author(s) provides a good reason for their inclusion. However, authorities are mandatory for taxonomic papers.
Units
SI units should be used for exact measurements of physical quantities and where appropriate elsewhere. Numbers preceding units should be written as numerals; those preceding other items up to and including ten should be spelt out, e.g. 8 cm, 2 days, ten fields, 11 leaves, but 6 out of 11 leaves. Units should preferably be explicit, e.g. 1 g/L, not 0.1% w/v or 1 g L-1.
Molecular Mass: When indicating the mass of viruses, ribosomes, and other biologically complex entities containing different kinds of molecules, the term molecular mass, not molecular weight, should be used. Molecular mass is the absolute mass of a molecule expressed in daltons (Da); the dalton is defined as one-twelfth the mass of an atom of 12C. Relative molecular mass (Mr) is a dimensionless number (i.e. has no units) representing the ratio of the mass of a molecule to one-twelfth the mass of an atom of 12C. A protein can be said to have an Mr of 20 000 or a molecular mass of 20 kDa. A number followed by K (e.g. 15K) may be used as a designation of a compound, but this designation must be defined when it first appears e.g. the protein with an Mr of 15 000/molecular mass of 15 kDa (15K protein).
Enzyme nomenclature
Enzyme names should conform to the Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the IUB on the Nomenclature and Classification of Enzymes as published in Enzyme Nomenclature 1984 (Academic Press Inc.: New York, 1984). If there is good reason to use a name other than the recommended name, at the first mention of the alternative name in the text it should be identified by the recommended name and EC number. The Editor-in-Chief should be advised of the reason for using the alternative name.
Chemical nomenclature
The nomenclature of compounds such as amino acids, carbohydrates, lipids, steroids, vitamins etc. should follow the recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature. Other biologically active compounds, such as metabolic inhibitors, plant growth regulators, buffers etc. should be referred to once by their correct chemical name (which is in accordance with IUPAC Rules of Chemical Nomenclature) and then by their most widely accepted common name. For pesticides, the latest issue of Pesticides-Synonyms and Chemical Names (Australian Government Publishing Service) should be followed. Where there is no common name, trade names or letter, abbreviations of the chemical may be used.
Fungus nomenclature
Following the acceptance of a paper with new scientific names of fungi (including lichens), authors must deposit the names in MycoBank (http://www.MycoBank.org) and obtain MycoBank numbers for each novelty (including combinations). These are to be inserted in the final version and given immediately after the name; alternatively, they can be added in proof if not already secured. This deposition is a condition of publication of new fungal names in Australasian Plant Pathology.
Virus nomenclature
In formal taxonomic usage, the first letters of virus order, family, subfamily, genus and species names are capitalised and the terms are printed in italics. Other words in the species name are not capitalised unless they are proper nouns, or parts of proper nouns (e.g. Tobacco mosaic virus, East African cassava mosaic virus). It should be stressed that italics and capital letters need to be used only if the species name refers to a taxonomic category, and not a physical entity such as a virion or coat protein (e.g. tobacco mosaic virus virions were observed under the electron microscope). Tentative species that have not been officially assigned to a virus genus should also not be italicised, although the initial letter should be capitalised. See Mayo MA, Horzinek MC (1998) A revised version of the international code of virus classification and nomenclature. Archives of Virology 143, 1645-1654. Standard abbreviations for virus names are provided by Fauquet MC, Mayo MA (1999) Abbreviations for plant virus names-1999. Archives of Virology 144, 1249-1273.
Statistical evaluation of results
The test used should be described briefly and, if necessary, supported by references. The number of individuals, the mean value and a measure of the variability should be stated. It should be made clear whether the standard deviation or the standard error of the mean has been given.
Tables
Each table should be on a separate page after the references. Each table should be numbered with arabic numerals and be accompanied by a title. Tables should be arranged with regard to the dimensions of the printed page (175 mm) and the number of columns kept to a minimum. Excessive subdivision of column headings is undesirable and long headings should be avoided by the use of explanatory notes incorporated as footnotes. The first letter only of headings to rows and vertical columns should be capitalised except for proper nouns. The symbol for the unit of measurement should be placed in parentheses beneath the column heading. Horizontal rules should be inserted only above and below column headings and at the foot of the table. Vertical rules should not be used. Each table must be referred to in the text. Only in exceptional circumstances will the presentation of essentially the same data in both tabular and graphical form be permitted; where adequate, the graphical form should be used. Short tables can frequently be incorporated into the text as a sentence or as a brief untitled tabulation. Tables should be formatted using the Table function in Word or similar software. Do not use tabs to delimit columns.
Illustrations
When first submitting your paper for publication, please send only hard copies of the illustrations. The electronic files of both the illustrations and text can be sent after your paper has been refereed and accepted.
As most illustrations will be reduced to fit either one or two columns, care should be taken with size of lettering and small detail. Lettering should have the first letter of the first word and any proper names capitalised. Binomials should be italicised. The minimum type size after reduction should be 8 pt. Thus for reductions of illustrations to 40, 50, 65 or 80% of their linear dimensions, the original type size should be 20, 16, 12 or 10 pt, respectively. Symbols, axes and grid marks should be of a size that is appropriate for the likely reduction.
Explanations of symbols should be given in the caption to the figure. Lettering of graphs should be kept to a minimum, as excessive lettering within the frame of a graph makes the lines difficult to decipher. Grid marks should point inwards; legends to axes should state the quantity being measured and be followed by the appropriate SI units in parentheses.
Computer-generated figures must be saved as follows:
Figures created or embedded in Word are often difficult to import into typesetting programs. Therefore, figures must be provided in the original application in which they were created.
Photographs
Photographs should be of the highest quality (at least 300 dpi at the size the image is to appear in print) with a full range of tones and good contrast. They should be trimmed squarely to exclude irrelevant features. Photographs need not be mounted, but a diagram or photocopy of the desired layout should be included as a guide to the publisher. The proportions of photographs and the printed page should be considered when preparing photographs for submission.
Lettering should contrast with its background; thus white lettering should be used on darker backgrounds. The size of lettering should be such that the final height after reduction is 1.5–2 mm. A scale bar should be inserted on each photomicrograph and electron micrograph where they are of different magnifications. If photographs are grouped into a single figure and are of the same magnification a group scale bar is acceptable. Important features to which attention has been drawn in the text should be indicated. Photocopies of photographs, electron micrographs etc. are not acceptable where it is necessary for reviewers to examine the details of results presented in this way. In this case either submit three sets of originals or one set of originals and two high quality laser photocopies of photographs or composite photographs.
Scanned photographs must be saved as TIFF files or .jpg files. Resolution must be at least 300 dpi.
Electronic files of photographs should be saved in CMYK colour rather than in RGB colour as this is required for printing purposes. Authors should note that colour may change when converted to CMYK from RGB colour, and hence may not be a true reproduction of the hard copies provided.
Colour photographs will be accepted if they are essential but the cost of colour reproduction must be borne by the author. The Publisher will provide an estimate of the cost before publication.
References
All references should be listed at the end of the text and should be arranged alphabetically. In the text, references should be cited by author and date (Harvard system). The names of two co-authors should be linked by ´and´; with three or more authors, the first name should be followed by ´et al.´. No editorial responsibility can be taken for the accuracy of the references. Authors are requested to check these with special care. Titles should be included for all references and the titles of journals should not be abbreviated. Papers that have not been accepted for publication cannot be included in the list of references and should be cited as ´unpublished data´ or ´personal communication´. Authors are referred to the latest issue of Australasian Plant Pathology for the style used in citing references.
Lodgement of cultures and specimens
Where a new record is being reported authors must lodge a voucher specimen and/or a culture of the pathogen (if available) in a recognised herbarium or culture collection.
Lodgement of gene sequences
Only in exceptional circumstances will long sequences be published. Deposition of sequences with one of the following publicly accessible databases is preferred. Accession numbers for primary nucleotide and/or amino acid sequence data should be included in the original manuscript or be inserted at the time the manuscript is last revised. The accession number should be included in the Methods section in research papers or at the end of the text in short communications.
GenBank: National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, Bldg. 38A, Rm. 8N-805. Bethesda, MD 20894, USA. Fax 1 301 480 9241. Email gb-sub@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (for data submission only); WWW URL http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ): Centre for Information Biology, National Institute of Genetics, Mishima, Shizuoka 411, Japan. Fax 81 559 81 6849. Email ddbjsub@ddbj.nig.ac.jp (for data submission only). WWW URL http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp.
European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Nucleotide Sequence Submissions, European Bioinformatics Institute, Hinxton Hall, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SD, United Kingdom. Fax 44 1223 494472. Email datasubs@ebi.ac.uk. WWW URL http://www.ebi.ac.uk.
Nucleic acid sequences of limited length which are the primary subject of a study may be presented freestyle in the most effective format. In exceptional cases, longer nucleic acid sequences may be presented and should be included on the disc file using a non-proportional (monospace) font such as Courier. Encoded amino acid sequences may be presented, if necessary, immediately above or below the first nucleotide of each codon, by using the standard single-letter amino acid code. When making comparisons between nucleotide or amino acid sequences, it is important to use the correct terminology. ´Homology´ has a precise biological meaning of ´having a common evolutionary origin´. When a percentage comparison is made, the terms ´identity´ or ´similarity´, as appropriate, must be used.
Research Notes
Short research notes follow the same logical sequence of presentation used in full papers except that section headings, other than for References, are omitted. As the distinction between a short research note and a full paper is a little subjective, consult the Editor if in doubt.
Manuscripts and editorial enquiries should be addressed to:
Editor-in-Chief
A/Prof Keith M. Harrower
Australasian Plant Pathology
Department of Molecular & Life Sciences
Central Queensland University
Rockhampton, Qld 4701
Australia
Telephone +61 7 4930 6354
Fax +61 7 4930 9209
Email k.harrower@cqu.edu.au
