Physiology and Molecular of Plants An International Journal of Functional Plant Biology www.springer.com/journal/12298

Indexed in Biological Abstracts, Elsevier Biobase, CAB Abstracts, Cambridge Scientific abstracts and Indian Science Abstracts

Aims and Scope Physiology and of Plants is a quarterly journal that aims to publish novel research findings as well as reviews and commentaries in all areas of functional plant biology for an international readership. Accordingly, the scope of the journal includes, but not limited to plant physiology, , biophysics, bioenergetics, , , molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics.

Article types and limits The journal primarily publishes original Research Articles, Review Articles and Short (research) Communications. In addition, a Forum section carries Commentaries, Policy debates, Conference reports, News & Views, Tributes, Perspectives, Book Reviews etc. that are published occasionally. The length of the text including references, tables and legends should be kept within 10,000 words for research and review articles, 5,000 words for Short Communications and 1000 - 2000 words for the Forum section. Unsolicited reviews will be considered, but authors should consult the Editor-in-Chief or Editor in advance. The journal frequently publishes thematic special issues or special sections focusing on the developments in a particular area of functional plant biology. Guest editors are usually solicited for this purpose, but unsolicited proposals may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief or Editor for consideration. For Book Reviews, two copies of the book (non returnable) are to be submitted to the Editorial Office.

Ethics and legal policies Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co- authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities as required, including ethics and biosafety committees as appropriate and that none of the authors have any conflicts of interest, unless specified otherwise. Corresponding authors have the sole responsibility to ensure that all (and only) those who contributed substantially and meaningfully to the scientific content of the manuscript are appropriately included as co-authors. The publisher will not be held legally responsible, should there be any claims for compensation. Authors will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the publisher. This will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws. Authors should also state that they have full control of all primary data and that they agree to allow the journal to review their data if requested. Therefore the manuscript must be accompanied by the “Copyright Transfer Form”. This form can be obtained from http://www.springer.com/journal/12298. After submission of this signed form, any changes of authorship will not be accepted.

Submission of manuscripts Authors should submit their manuscripts online, as it substantially saves the time for editorial processing, reviewing and overall publication. Please visit the site http://www.editorialmanager.com/pmbp and upload all of your manuscript files following the instructions given on the screen. New authors need to register to obtain their username and password through email before they proceed for submission. In case of any problem during the submission process, please contact the editor at: [email protected]

All research articles and short communications must contain abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgments, references, tables and figure legends as a text (or document) file. Each of the illustrations/figures/images must be uploaded as separate high-resolution files. The file formats, image resolution requirements and detailed instructions to authors are available on the website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/pmbp/. Detailed instructions for manuscript preparation are provided below. Authors, peer reviewers and guest editors are requested to pay special attention to editing and proofreading of manuscripts, including language, grammar, scientific accuracy and appropriateness in expression, and ensure that all the figures, tables, references etc., mentioned in the manuscript are actually there in it. Manuscripts that do not conform to the prescribed format of the journal, or require major improvements in language or presentation will be rejected, regardless of the overall scientific worth of the manuscript. The corresponding authors will be notified by email once a decision has been reached, though they can also track the status of their manuscripts for comments, revisions etc., on the above site.

Editorial contacts: All correspondence related to publication and other matters concerning the Journal, including inquiries regarding the back volumes, should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief/ Editor.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Title page The title page should include: A concise and informative title The name(s) of the author(s) The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s) The e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers of the corresponding author

Abstract Please provide a structured abstract of 150 to 200 words for Research/Review Articles, briefly stating the main purpose and research questions addressed, brief methodology, main results and conclusions. For other articles, provide an abstract of 75 to 100 words for Short communications, or 50-75 words for contributions to the Forum section. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

Keywords Please provide 4 to 6 keywords, which can be used for indexing purposes

Text Text formatting For submission in Word Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 10-point Times Roman) for text. Use italics for emphasis. Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages. Do not use field functions. Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar. Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables. Use the equation editor or MathType for equations.

Note: If you use Word 2007, do not create the equations with the default equation editor but use MathType instead. Save your file in two formats: doc and rtf. Do not submit docx files.

Heading levels, numbering Please use no more than three levels of displayed headings.

Abbreviations and acronyms Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter

Terminology Generic names of drugs and pesticides are preferred; if trade names are used, the generic name should be given at first mention.

Equation Please use the standard mathematical notation for formulae, symbols etc.: Italic for single letters that denote mathematical constants, variables, and unknown quantities Roman/upright for numerals, operators, and punctuation, and commonly defined functions or abbreviations, e.g., cos, det, e or exp, lim, log, max, min, sin, tan, d (for derivative) Bold for vectors, tensors, and matrices.

Acknowledgments Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section before the reference list. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

Tables All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals. Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. For each table, please provide a heading, that explains clearly and concisely the components of the table. Identify any previously published material by giving the original source reference at the end of the heading. Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

Figures All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals. Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters. Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. For each figure, please supply a figure caption. Make sure to identify all elements found in the figure in the caption. Identify any previously published material by giving the original source reference at the end of the caption. For more information about preparing your illustrations, please follow the hyperlink to the artwork instructions on the right.

References The list of References should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text. Citations in the text should be given by name such as Arnon, 1997; Raghuram and Sopory, 1995; or Saha et al., 2001 etc. Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list, which should be provided under the heading ‘literature cited’ and arranged alphabetically in the following manner:

Journal article Siril, E. A., & Dhyani, P. P. (1999). Analysis of genetic stability of in vitro raised Sapium sebiferum plants using isozyme expression. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 5, 73–76.

Complete Book South, J., & Blass, B. (2001). The future of modern genomics. London: Blackwell.

Chapter of book Bateman, D.F., & Basham, H. G. (1976). Degradation of plant cell wall and membrane by microbial enzymes. In R. Heitefuss, & P. H. Williams (Eds.), Physiological plant pathology (pp. 317–355). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

Edited book Lambers, H. (1985). Respiration in intact plants and tissues: Its regulation and dependence on environmental factors, and invaded organisms. In R. Douce, & D. A. Day (Eds.), Encyclopedia of plant physiology, news series (Vol. 18). Higher plant cell respiration (2nd ed., pp. 418–473). Berlin: Sringer-Verlag.

Article by DOI Struik, A. K. (2000). Trends in Agricultural Science with Special Reference to Research and Development in the Potato Sector. Potato Research Doi: 10.1007/s11540-006-9000-7.

Online document Doe, J. (1999). Title of subordinate document. In The dictionary of substances and their effects. Royal Society of Chemistry. Available via DIALOG. http://www.rsc.org/dose/title of subordinate document. Accessed 15 Jan 1999.

Note: Always use the full title of the journal in its expanded form. http://www.springer.com/journal/12298