Plant Physiology^® publishes full-length research articles as well as Editorials, Scientific Correspondence, Updates, and articles on Breakthrough Technologies, Genome Analysis, and Bioinformatics. The submission methods for each section follow.

FULL-LENGTH RESEARCH ARTICLES

These articles should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 250 words. In deciding whether articles are suitable for the Journal, editors will be guided by the principles articulated below. The emphasis will always be on the extent to which the article contributes to the understanding of how plants develop and function. Articles that do not meet the criteria set forth here may be declined by the editors without outside ad hoc review. Articles must use 1.5 line spacing. Page charges are $75 per page for the first 10 pages ($55 per page if the corresponding author is a member of ASPB). The charge for each page over 10 will be tripled (page totals are rounded to the next whole page). Click here to estimate the number of printed pages your article will fill if it is accepted for publication. Authors are encouraged to publish large tables and figures as supplemental data as outlined in the section on "Large Scale Data Sets."

Because the methodology of plant science has come to encompass everything from biochemistry and chemistry to immunochemistry and microscopy, from structural biology to molecular biology, from genetics to live cell imaging, submissions are welcome regardless of experimental approach. Accepted papers must either present novel findings and uncover new biological meaning and/or significance of the process, or use novel and useful approaches that will enable scientific progress. The Journal will not publish papers that contain purely descriptive information, that are merely confirmatory, or that are preliminary reports of partially completed or incompletely documented research findings of uncertain significance, or reports documenting well-known processes in a species in which this process has not yet been documented. Papers that report the purification of proteins, the cloning of genes, isolation of new mutants, or microarray/Affymetrix data must address hypotheses about functional aspects of plants. Plant Physiology will accept profiling data papers only when they test a scientific hypothesis and are biologically significant. Papers should be concise and avoid unnecessary redundancy, especially in the Discussion section. Statements of priority or first finding are generally not permitted in Plant Physiology.

Full-length research articles should be author designated to one of the following research categories:

RESEARCH CATEGORIES

Breakthrough Technologies. Because technological innovations accelerate the rate of progress in our discipline, we encourage submission of manuscripts reporting new technology breakthroughs. These will be published when judged by the Associate Editor to represent advances of exceptional significance and broad applicability and interest.

Genome Analysis. These articles should report biologically relevant results from the analysis of large genomics-style data sets or new methods for assessing the value of genomics data. These types of analyses can help, among other things, to determine pathways not previously known to exist in plants and provide insight into evolution and genetic mechanisms. Authors should indicate in their cover letters that a manuscript should be considered for this section.

Bioinformatics. Recent advances and innovations in biology are exponentially accelerating the rate of data production. The increasing wealth of data and information challenges researchers to expand beyond their domain of expertise into areas of the unknown. To navigate, interpret, and understand this sea of data, better ways for managing, analyzing, and accessing information are needed. For the research community to achieve this goal, we need to develop our interdisciplinary forums for researchers from different backgrounds to share their ideas, innovations, and expertise. Plant Physiology solicits articles that address ways of solving problems in information management that are/may be applicable to plant biology. Papers in this category need to follow the organization of papers published in Plant Physiology. When new datasets, algorithms, or databases are described it is required that the authors provide all information that reviewers would need to rigorously assess the resources described in the manuscript. These might include a method for anonymous access to any web-based resource or a demonstration version of software being described. Submitted papers must be written in such a way that any scientist could follow and reproduce the results. Upon acceptance, these datasets, algorithms, or databases are required to be publicly available as outlined in the section on "Expression profiling data, large-scale data sets, and other supplemental data". If you have any suggestions or questions, contact C. Robin Buell (buell{at}msu.edu).

Editorials. Editorials are usually solicited by the Editor-in-Chief to accompany a published article. However, uninvited Editorials and Letters to the Editor on topics of interest or controversy will be considered for publication. Authors should contact Don Ort (d-ort{at}uiuc.edu) before submission.

Scientific Correspondence. These peer-reviewed, solicited-only, short contributions provide scientists with a forum to discuss new scientific ideas based on an analysis of the existing literature or on a few experiments. Acceptance of papers depends on the extent to which thinking is challenged into new directions. Contributions are strictly limited to three journal pages including tables, figures, and references. Articles should not include abstracts; however, the main thrust of the contents has to be summarized in the first two sentences. Persons wishing to write a Scientific Correspondence article may contact Don Ort (d-ort{at}uiuc.edu) to ensure that the proposed article fits the category.

Updates. Updates are solicited reviews of recent progress and meant to be teaching tools. Although these are primarily associated with Focus Issues, scientists wishing to contribute an Update to a regular issue must first correspond with Don Ort (d-ort{at}uiuc.edu). All uninvited Updates will be returned to the author(s).

SUBMISSION

Language Editing Services. Authors who believe their manuscripts would benefit from professional editing are encouraged to use language-editing services, such as the ones described at the following web sites, prior to submission.

http://www.prof-editing.com
http://www.bostonbioedit.com
http://www.internationalscienceediting.com
http://www.asiascienceediting.com
http://www.biosciencewriters.com
http://www.oleng.com.au
http://davidherron.tripod.com/index-6.html
http://www.documentclinic.com
http://www.scientific-editor.com
http://www.bluepencilscience.com
http://www.journalexperts.com?rcode=plant1
http://www.writescienceright.com
http://www.anitaksnyder.com
http://www.bioedit.co.uk
http://www.biomeditor.com
http://www.emendo.co.uk
http://www.sciencedocs.com
http://www.bioscienceeditingsolutions.com

NOTE: ASPB provides these links as a service to our author community. The Society does not take responsibility for or endorse the services these companies offer and cannot attest to the quality of their work. Use of such services in no way guarantees acceptance of a manuscript for publication. If you have questions, or if you do use one of these services and would like to send ASPB feedback on your experience, please contact Nancy Winchester, ASPB director of publications, at nancyw{at}aspb.org.

ORGANIZATION

Submit manuscript with elements arranged in the following order, numbering all pages consecutively. All material should be 1.5-spaced. Font: Times New Roman, Courier New, Arial. (Other fonts may cause conversion problems).

1. Page 1: Running head not to exceed 60 characters and spaces; name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address of author to whom all correspondence should be sent (please note that the Journal will cite only one corresponding author per article); and journal research area most appropriate for the paper (categories are listed above).

2. Page 2: Title of article; all authors' full names (necessary for accurate indexing and abstracting); institution address(es).

3. Page 3: Footnotes in the following order: financial source (if any) and the experiment station or institution paper number; present address(es) of authors if different from heading; corresponding author with e-mail address.

4. Page 4: Abstract (include genus and species). Abstracts cannot exceed 250 words or the processing of the paper will be delayed.

5. Page 5 and subsequent pages: Text (the "introduction" should not exceed 10,000 characters), Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and Materials and Methods; Acknowledgments (do not use the space to supply financial source).

6. Literature Cited. (Authors are responsible for accuracy in citations. Citations will be copyedited for format only.)

7. Figure legends (must be included below the figure in each individual figure file).

8. Tables with brief and concise titles and legends (one table per page).

9. Original figure files (with corresponding figure legends contained in each file). See FIGURE PREPARATION, DIGITAL ART, COVER SUBMISSIONS, and SUPPLEMENTAL DATA.

10. Supplemental data files. See Supplemental Data.

TEXT REQUIREMENTS

Style and format. Manuscripts should be written in simple declarative sentences and must conform to accepted standards of English style and usage. Consult recent issues for style and placement of main headings, subheadings, and paragraph headings and for other details of format. Authors may wish to consult Scientific Style and Format, 6th Ed., 1994, Council of Biology Editors, Bethesda, MD, for current scientific and editorial conventions.

Nomenclature. In the abstract, at first mention in the text, and in "Materials and Methods," include complete botanical names (genus, species, and, when appropriate, cultivar) for all experimental plants. Do NOT use the genus name alone, unless that is the accepted common name. Identify algae and microorganisms by a collection number or that of a comparable listing. Following first mentions, generic names should be abbreviated to the initial, except when confusion could arise by reference to genera with the same initial. Common names can be used after first mention. When the genus name is the accepted common name, the name should be in lowercase, roman type. Arabidopsis (no italics) is an accepted common name for A. thaliana.

Abbreviations. Do not abbreviate words or measures in the title other than those standard for international usage. Chemical symbols can be used in the title, but spell out chemical elements. Units of measure can be abbreviated in the abstract. Please click on the following link for a list of abbreviations that can be used in the remainder of the text and the running head: List of Abbreviations. Introduce all other abbreviations parenthetically following the term both in the abstract (if used three times) and at first use of the term in the text. Abbreviations must be used three times in the text (this includes table and figure legends) or the term must be spelled out.

Units of measure. The metric system is standard, and SI units must be used as much as possible. Use negative exponents to indicate units in the denominator when three or more units are used (e.g., µmol m^-2 s^-1 rather than µmol/m²/s).

Numbers and fractions. Write out numerals one through nine, except when used with units of measure. Write out all numbers or fractions that begin a sentence, or rephrase the sentence to avoid beginning with a numeral. Use the preposition "to" between numerals (do not use a dash): e.g., "13 to 22 min" and "3°C to 10°C." Exceptions: in tables, figures, graphs, legends, and within parentheses in the text, dashes are used. Decimals are preferred over fractions; however, when simple fractions are used, write them out as a hyphenated unit: "two-thirds."

Statistical treatment. When appropriate, include statistical analysis.  Define all statistical measures and models clearly. Identify the number of independent replications of experimental treatments and the number of times individual experiments were duplicated.

Ratios. In describing mixtures, use "to" if a ratio is stated in words: "the chloroform to methanol ratio"; use a colon if a numerical ratio is provided: "chloroform:methanol (2:1, v/v)"; use a hyphen if a numerical value is not given: "used in chloroform-methanol."

Solutions. Describe solutions of common acids and bases in terms of normality (N), e.g., 1 N NaOH, and those of salts in terms of molarity (M). Express fractional concentrations by decimals: 0.1 N acetic acid (not N/10 acetic acid). Define % as (w/w), (w/v), or (v/v); 10% (w/v) signifies 10 g/100 mL. Express concentrations as micrograms per gram (µg g^-1) or micrograms per milliliter (µg mL^-1) rather than as parts per million (ppm).

Gases. To indicate volume of gases, use microliters per liter (µL L^-1) or nanoliters per liter (nL L^-1) rather than ppm or ppb.

Ions. Represent ions as follows: Na⁺, Mn³⁺, Br^-, PO₄^3-.

Isotopically labeled compounds. For simple molecules, indicate the labeling by writing the chemical formulae, for example: ¹⁴CO₂, H₂¹⁸O, ²H₂O (or D₂O), H₂³⁵SO₄. For other molecules, place the isotopic symbol in square brackets attached to the name or the formula without a hyphen or space: [¹⁴C]glucose, [³²P]ATP, [²H]C₂H₂, sodium [¹⁴C]lactate. In the case of generic names, write the isotope without brackets and follow with a hyphen: ¹³¹I-albumin, ¹⁴C-amino acids, ¹⁴C-photosynthate. Place letter and symbols indicating configuration and the like before the square bracket: D-[¹⁴C]glucose, L-[¹⁴C]alanine, alpha[¹⁴C]naphthaleneacetic acid.  Indicate the positions of isotopic labeling by Arabic numerals, Greek letters, or prefixes placed in the square bracket and before the symbol of the element to which they are attached by hyphen: D-[3-¹⁴C]lactate, L-[2-¹⁴C]leucine, L-[2,3-¹⁴C]malate, [gamma-³²P]ATP. Use the term U to indicate that the isotope is uniformly distributed among all six carbons: [U-¹⁴C]glucose.

Molecular weight and mass. Two equivalent expressions should be distinguished: "molecular weight" (M_r) is the ratio of the mass of a molecule to 1/12 of the mass of carbon 12 and is, therefore, dimensionless. "Molecular mass" (the mass of one molecule of a substance) is not a ratio and can be expressed in daltons (D). Say "the molecular mass of X is 20,000 daltons" (20 kD) or "the molecular weight (M_r) is 20,000," but do not express M_r in daltons. Expressions such as "the 20-kD peptide" and "the mass of a band on a gel is 240 kD" are acceptable for an entity that is not a definable molecule.

Trade names and suppliers. Whenever possible, use the generic name of equipment, chemicals, or other things used in research, followed by the trade name (capitalized) in parentheses with the name and location of the manufacturer. Avoid the use of trade names and code numbers of experimental chemical compounds used in research; rather, identify such compounds by common name (American Standards Association) if such a name exists, or by chemical name and structural formula.

Materials and methods. This section should reference all standard procedures but must be complete enough so that results can be verified by other laboratories.

For reports of experiments in which growth rooms were used to simulate the natural environment, growth room conditions must be described according to the guidelines in Scientific Style and Format, Council of Biology Editors, 1994, 6th Ed., pp.434–436. The following information must be provided:

• For plants grown under controlled or semi-controlled growth chamber conditions, the primary parameters needed are the timing and levels of illumination (e.g., 16/8 hr photoperiod at 200 µmol m^-2 s^-1) and the temperature(s) at which the plants were grown.
• For plants grown in greenhouses, the major items needed are (1) the time of year that the plants were grown, (2) whether any supplemental lighting was provided and, if so, its nature, and (3) details of any temperature control.
• For both chamber and greenhouse conditions, the application of any fertilization regime, if present, should also be given.

Accession numbers should be provided at the end of the Material and Methods for any data or materials available in a public repository. Novel DNA sequences must be deposited in GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and accession numbers provided. If a number has not yet been assigned at the time of submission, use x's as place holders to be updated later. In the case of data sets too large for inclusion in the manuscript (such as EST sequences, gene or genome annotations, genetic maps, microarray data, metabolic profiles, etc.), complete data sets must be uploaded as electronic supplementary material, to be peer reviewed and posted with the online article. See also sections on Large-Scale Data Sets and Other Supplemental Data, Distribution of Materials, and Gene Expression Profiling Data.

Literature cited. Cite all references in text by last names and year of publication. Grouped text citations should be arranged from the earliest to most recent year, alphabetized by name within the same year. For entries in "Literature Cited," alphabetize by first author's last name and follow the styles below exactly for capitalization, punctuation, and order of elements. The accuracy in the "Literature Cited" section is the responsibility of the authors. The Journal will only proofread references for format. Any mistakes in reference formats may affect the conversion of html references.

Journal articles: Author AB, Author BB (1977) Title of article. Plant Physiol 59: 45–59

Book articles: Author AB, Author BB, Author CC (1974) Title of article. In A Smith, B Jones, eds, Title of Book, Ed 2 Vol 3. Publisher, City, pp 14–19

Theses: Author BC (1974) Title of thesis. PhD thesis. University, City

Online: Author A (year of publication) Title. Source Title, http://www.utopia.com/talent/lpb/muddex/essay

Patent: Author B, Author BC, inventors. January 1, 1997. Endogenous nonstarch polysaccharide hydrolyzing enzymes. European Patent Application No. XXX

No Authors or Editors: Title of Booklet, Pamphlet, etc. (1975) Publisher (or Company), City

If you are citing an article that only exists as an early online version, including the PubMed ID (PMID) number will allow reviewers to link directly to the article. At the bottom of the PubMed record for the article, you will find the PMID number which you should include in the reference as follows:

Author AB, Author BB (2006) Title of article. PMID: 16723506

Write out in full all one-word journal titles. Use the BIOSIS List of Serials for abbreviations of multiple-word journal titles; write out in full the names of journals not listed there. Unpublished data (submitted articles and articles in preparation) and personal communications are not acceptable as literature citations, so they must be referred to parenthetically in the text. Please include initials and last names of all authors. Articles that are "in press" may be so designated in "Literature Cited." Note: An article may be referred to as "in press" only if it has been accepted for publication; cite the journal in which the article will appear. For personal communications, it is the corresponding author's responsibility to ensure that those cited are aware of the citation and have approved the content of the personal communication.

TABLES

1. Number tables consecutively with Roman numerals.

2. First mention of tables in the text must be in sequential order.

3. Provide each table with a short, concise title followed by a legend that will make the general meaning of the table comprehensible without reference to the text.

4. Provide a descriptive heading for each column.

5. Do not separate data within the body of the table with new column headings or data. Do not arrange tables in sections labeled as, e.g., A or B. Instead, create another table to express data unconnected to or separate from that already presented. Authors will be contacted and asked to supply a new table if submitted in this form.

6. Use superscript lowercase letters to indicate footnotes. Asterisks or other symbols should not be used in place of the letters and will be changed accordingly.

7. For all submitted tables, please use Word's "create table" feature, with no tabbed text or tables created with spaces and drawn lines.

8. Do not use color, shading, or graphics in tables.

Numerals. Check both tabular data and numerical values reported in the text for the proper number of significant figures. For decimals smaller than one, insert a zero before the decimal point: 0.349.

Powers. To avoid numbers with many digits, express such numbers as powers of 10. The unit may be changed by the use of prefixes such as "m" or "µ." For example: enter "5" to express a g value of 0.005 under the heading g × 10^-3 or a g value of 5,000 under the heading g × 103; conversely, express a concentration of 0.0015 M as 1.5 under the heading "concn (mM)."

FIGURE PREPARATION, DIGITAL ART, COVER SUBMISSIONS, and SUPPLEMENTAL DATA

Figure preparation. Number figures consecutively according to the order in which they are called out in the text. Manuscripts submitted with substandard figures will be delayed. Format your figures according to our "Help With Digital Art" document. To assist the editors and reviewers, please also include the figure number in the figure image itself. Each figure should have its corresponding legend contained within the figure file below the figure. Figures should be unambiguous and as conceptual as possible and provide enough information so that the reader can understand them without significant input from the text. For those figures that contain more than one panel, designate the panels with capital letters (no parentheses and no periods following letters) in the upper left-hand corner. Whenever possible, position panels vertically for one-column reproduction in the journal. For the best possible reproduction of gel blots, submit combination figures in which the labels and photographs or autoradiographs are composite images. Format the width of sequence data in the paper to one column.

Figure manipulation. Plant Physiology does not allow certain electronic enhancements or manipulations of micrographs, gels, or other digital images using Photoshop or any other software. If multiple images are collected into a single figure, be sure to separate them clearly with lines. If a digital tool is used to adjust contrast, brightness, or color, it must be applied uniformly to an entire image; targeted alteration of only part of an image is prohibited. Plant Physiology reserves the right to ask authors to provide supporting data on which figures were based. Please refer to J Cell Biol (2002) 158: 1151 (http://www.jcb.org/cgi/content/full/158/7/1151) for guidance on acceptable and unacceptable digital image manipulation.

Free online color is now available for all accepted papers. This new feature allows authors to have figures presented in color online and in black and white in print. The use of online-only color will be subject to editorial review to ensure that color is not critical for data interpretation but aids in presentation. The online submission system will prompt you to select whether each figure is intended to be printed in color online only or in both print and online. If a figure is going to be printed in color online only, please upload only one file in RGB color mode for that figure.

1: In fluorescent double-staining micrographs and DNA chips, do not use the combination of red and green; use magenta and green instead.

2: For micrographs with triple or more channels, additionally show either grayscale image of each channel or the combination of the two most important channels in magenta and green.

3: For graphs and line drawings, label elements on the graph itself rather than making a separate color-coded key. Do not try to convey information in color only, but use BOTH color and shape (solid and dotted lines, different symbols, various hatchings, etc.).

4. For more information, see the following web site: http://jfly.iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp/color/

Digital art. Authors must submit correctly formatted digital art files. Please visit the following URL for a complete guide on formatting figure files. http://submit.plantphysiol.org/journals/plantphysiol/forms/digital_art.pdf

Figure labels must match text for capitalization, italics, and use of symbols. If labels contain typographic errors or inconsistencies, the author will be asked to upload a corrected figure(s). Each figure file must contain its corresponding legend, included below the figure as part of each individual figure file. If you have any questions regarding the preparation of quality digital art files, please contact Ash Csikos at the Plant Physiology editorial office (301-251-0560, ext. 125; lcsikos{at}aspb.org).

Cover figure submissions. Each cover of Plant Physiology will have an illustration selected from one of the articles published in that issue. Authors who would like to have a color photograph considered should submit an image online via BenchPress when submitting a manuscript, or email submissions to the manuscript tracking office at lcsikos{at}aspb.org. The image will then be forwarded by the manuscript office to the Editor-in-Chief for consideration. If your photograph is selected, you will be contacted by the Production Manager, who will provide additional instructions.

Expression profiling data, large-scale data sets, and other supplemental data. Expression profiling data, large-scale data sets, and other supplemental data (those too large to be submitted comfortably for print publication, and videos) must be submitted for inclusion in the online version of Plant Physiology via BenchPress at the time of submission. Supplemental materials presented at Plant Physiology Online are subject to the same copyright restrictions as published manuscripts and cannot be presented elsewhere without proper citation. PLEASE NOTE: All supplemental data will be peer reviewed via the BenchPress system. Supplemental materials must be briefly described in the manuscript (in the Results or Materials and Methods section, as appropriate) with direct reference to each item, such as Figure S1, Table S1, Protocol S1 and Video S1 (numbering should always start at 1, since these elements will be numbered independently from those that will appear in the printed version of the article). Each supplemental item that is posted online should be listed after the Materials and Methods section under the heading "Supplemental Material" along with a brief descriptive title. Protocols for experiments presented as supplemental material must be described in the print article, at least in general terms; a more detailed methods description may be provided as a Supplemental Protocol. Text of supplemental materials such as in legends, footnotes, and protocols must follow Journal style. Preferred file formats for uploading are Microsoft Excel (.xls) for large-scale data sets, PDF for figures, and QuickTime format (.mov) for videos (please keep video files to 6 MB or less to allow for easy downloading). Please combine all supplemental figures, supplemental Materials and Methods, supplemental tables in Word and other Word-based supplemental data, into one pdf file with supplemental legends included for easier reader access. In general, large-scale data sets must be complete (e.g., must include the complete set of genome sequences analyzed, ESTs identified, genes queried in transcript profiling, peptides identified, molecules identified, etc.) and data supporting transcript profiling experiments must include complete sequence information (e.g., accession numbers, relevant annotation data, and in the case of Arabidopsis, TAIR locus identifiers http://www.arabidopsis.org ). At the time of publication, supplemental data must be placed in a permanent public repository if one is available, or if none is available, in Plant Physiology Online. Examples of accepted public gene expression repositories are GEO (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo) and ArrayExpress (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress). Links to web sites other than a permanent public repository are not an acceptable alternative because they are not permanent archives.

As a condition of publication in Plant Physiology, submitters of manuscripts that contain gene expression profiling data are required to describe the experiments according to MIAME guidelines (Brazma et al. 2001 Nature Genetics 29: 365–371; (http://www.mged.org). Papers based on unreplicated gene expression profiling experiments will not be accepted for publication in Plant Physiology. As with all experiments, gene expression profiling experiments should include replicates of the biological samples being assayed and utilize statistically based methods of data analysis. Supporting experiments, such as real-time PCR for selected genes, are not an adequate substitute for replication within a gene expression profiling experiment. Authors are encouraged to consult a statistician regarding both experimental design and methods of data analysis for their gene expression profiling experiments.

PROCESSING

Peer Review

• A new manuscript submission is forwarded to the appropriate Associate Editor who then assigns it to a Monitoring Editor. The Monitoring Editor usually assigns two reviewers for each manuscript. Each reviewer and Monitoring Editor evaluates the manuscript in terms of the importance of research questions, the rigor of the experimental evidence and protocols, and the validity and significance of the conclusion. Authors are encouraged to suggest appropriate reviewers in their field, ensuring that none have a conflict of interest with any author. For more information on conflicts of interest, please see the following web site: http://www.aspb.org/publications/coi.cfm
• A decision letter will be emailed to the corresponding author once the Monitoring Editor has made his or her decision. The critiques provided by the reviewers can be viewed online by the corresponding author at http://submit.plantphysiol.org in his or her Author Area in the Manuscripts with Decisions queue.
• If the manuscript is accepted without revision, the editorial office will contact the corresponding author if additional files/documents are needed.
• If the manuscript is accepted pending revisions, the corresponding author will upload the revised manuscript files using the BenchPress system. A revised manuscript must be received preferably within 30 days, and no later than 60 days after the decision letter is sent. The manuscript will be assigned to the same editor unless authors specifically request otherwise or the original editor is unavailable for an extended period of time. If the corresponding author fails to upload a revision in less than 60 days, the manuscript will be handled like a resubmission.
• Plant Physiology permits only two rounds of revisions, with the second round reserved only for minor corrections. This means that Monitoring Editors must make the final decision whether to accept or reject a resubmitted manuscript on the basis of the authors providing as complete an answer as possible to the referees' criticisms during the first round of revisions. A second round of revisions will be allowed only to correct minor issues. If the manuscript is rejected after it has been revised it should not be resubmitted to Plant Physiology.
• If the manuscript is declined with encouragement from the Monitoring Editor to resubmit, the resubmission must be submitted online and will be handled like a new manuscript. A resubmission must be noted as such with its previous tracking number.
• A manuscript that contains excellent science but otherwise requires extensive revision will, as a matter of policy, be declined.
• If at any time during the review process the corresponding author has a question regarding the status a manuscript or the nature of the peer review process, he or she should contact the Manuscript Manager at lcsikos@aspb.org.

Proof. The printer will notify the corresponding author via e-mail to electronically retrieve page proofs. The corresponding author will have access to one PDF file, which will contain: (a) 8 ˝ x 11-inch PDF pages (includes figures and tables) and (b) a reprint order form. The corresponding author will return to the printer by mail (a) original figures if applicable, (b) proofread and corrected original proof, and (c) the completed reprint order form. The author can expect to be notified and receive proofs via e-mail within 4 to 6 weeks of the accepted date.

POLICIES

Electronic posting of articles. Plant Physiology will review manuscripts that include data that are posted on an author's web site. If the data are posted in the form of a preprint, it should be clearly stated beneath the title of the web preprint that is under review (or accepted for publication) by Plant Physiology. Authors may post only the version of their manuscript that is under consideration by the Plant Physiology editorial board. Final published manuscripts will reside on the journal sites. Once the published article has appeared online at the journal site, a toll-free link providing barrier-free access to the HTML and PDF versions of the article will be e-mailed to all authors. Authors should replace their manuscript posting with the toll-free link to their article. These links also may be deposited in institutional repositories.

NIH Public Access Policy. On behalf of authors, Plant Physiology deposits final published articles in PubMed Central for release 12 months after the date of publication. If a paper was funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, this fulfills the requirements of the NIH Public Access Policy. However, authors of NIH-funded papers, if they choose, may deposit the peer-reviewed, accepted version of their manuscript in PubMed Central, provided the release date is set for 12 months after the date of final publication in the journal.

Authorship. Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to (a) conception and design, or analysis and interpretation of data; to (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and on (c) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions a, b, and c must all be met. Any part of an article critical to its main conclusions must be the responsibility of at least one author. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. (This statement is taken from the authorship policy adopted by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and published in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, 1994.) Optionally, after Acknowledgments, include a section titled Author Contributions to detail how each author contributed to the research or the writing of the manuscript. Note which of the following tasks each author performed: designed the research; performed research; contributed new analytic/computational/etc. tools; analyzed data; or wrote the paper. Any material submitted to Plant Physiology must be original and not published or submitted for publication elsewhere. All referenced work previously published, including the authors' own work, must be properly cited.

Title and abstract. The title and abstract should be factual and not state or otherwise imply conclusions not rigorously supported by the evidence presented in the paper.

Ethics. Please click on the following link for information regarding ASPB policies and procedures for handling allegations of author misconduct: http://www.aspb.org/publications/ethics.cfm

Distribution of materials. Plant Physiology requires that all materials described in a manuscript be made freely available to academic investigators for non-commercial research purposes. Upon request, all novel materials described in the publication must be made available in a timely manner for non-commercial research purposes, subject to the requisite permission from any third-party owners of all or parts of the material. Obtaining permission from third parties is the responsibility of the requestor. No restrictions or conditions will be placed on the use of any materials described in a paper published in Plant Physiology that would limit their use for non-commercial research purposes. The provision of novel enzymes, antibodies, and material products described in the manuscript can be reasonably limited in case that substantial effort is required for isolation. All manuscripts submitted to Plant Physiology will be reviewed to ensure conformance with this policy and must include the following statement as an unnumbered footnote: "The author(s) responsible for distribution of materials integral to the findings presented in this article in accordance with the Journal policy described in the Instructions for Authors ( http://www.plantphysiol.org) is (are): J.D. Author (author@college.edu)." Contact Information for the author(s) responsible for distribution of materials must be provided.

To facilitate sharing of materials, authors may choose to use one of the following services.

Addgene (http://www.addgene.org)

Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center (http://www.biosci.ohio-state.edu/pcmb/Facilities/abrc/abrchome.htm)

Maize Genetics Cooperation Stock Center (http://maizecoop.cropsci.uiuc.edu)

NOTE: ASPB provides these links as a service to our author community. The Society does not take responsibility for or endorse the services these companies offer and cannot attest to the quality of their work. If you have questions, or if you do use one of these services and would like to send ASPB feedback on your experience, please contact Nancy Winchester, ASPB Director of Publications, at nancyw{at}aspb.org.

Novel DNA sequences must be deposited in GenBank and accession numbers provided in the manuscript. In the case of data sets too large for inclusion in the manuscript (such as EST sequences, gene or genome annotations, genetic maps, microarray data, metabolic profiles, etc.), complete data sets must be uploaded as electronic supplementary material, to be peer reviewed and posted with the article online. Refer to the section "Expression Profiling Data, Large-Scale Data Sets and Other Supplemental Data" for detailed information.

Gene nomenclature. The editorial board of Plant Physiology recognizes gene nomenclature as an important issue and fully supports adherence to convention for naming genes. It is the responsibility of each scientist in the community to see that conventions are maintained. Plant Physiology requires authors who are introducing new gene or protein nomenclature to submit a statement that outlines possible conflicts or confusions regarding their nomenclature and confirms that they have consulted the literature and other resources before naming their gene(s). The two-letter prefix indicating species (e.g., At, Zm, Os) is not part of the gene symbol and is used to prevent possible confusion between species.

For Arabidopsis mutant genes, authors must follow the guidelines for naming genes outlined by Meinke and Koornneef ([1997] Community standars for Arabidopsis genetics. Plant J 12: 247–253), and register new mutant gene symbols at http://www.arabidopsis.org/portals/nomenclature/index.jsp. This URL also provides other useful information and links on plant gene and protein classification.

Corrections to published articles. If necessary, corrections of significant errors in published articles will be published in a later issue of the Journal. Authors are requested to bring any errors to the attention of the Production Manager as soon as possible.

Fees and charges. Color figures are charged at a rate of $300 per figure. Authors may now choose to have free online color for their figures if color is not critical for data interpretation but aids in presentation. The print version of the figures will be in black and white. This option can be selected when figures are uploaded during online submission. The use of online-only color will be subject to editorial review to ensure that color is not critical for data interpretation but aids in presentation. Authors are assessed a per page charge of $75 for the first 10 pages. The charge for each page over 10 will be tripled (page totals are rounded to the next whole page). Click here to estimate the number of printed pages your article will fill if it is accepted for publication.

If the corresponding author is a member of ASPB at the time of submission, page charges are reduced to $55 per page (still tripled for each page over 10). Also, if accepted, the article will be made freely available online (i.e., Open Access). This Open Access feature, Real-Time Plant Physiology, means that anyone with an internet connection will have instant access to the full-text, final article as soon as it is published. To join ASPB now, click here. Nonmember corresponding authors still have the option to purchase the Open Access feature for $1500 or a discounted rate of $500 if the author's institution subscribes to Plant Physiology. For more information, click here.

Publication of an article in Plant Physiology is not contingent upon the author's ability to pay the charges. For solicited Updates, page fees are waived. Under exceptional circumstances that are explained in writing to the Managing Editor, authors may request waiver of the color reproduction or page charges. Authors will need to justify that the color figure is essential for interpreting the results presented in the manuscript.