Scientific Style and Format (Council of Science Editors)
The editors reserve the privilege of editing manuscripts to conform with the stylistic conventions established in recent volumes of GENETICS, in these Instructions, and in the above-mentioned reference materials, as well as current terminology and accepted usage and practice.
MANUSCRIPT TEXT
Manuscripts must be:
- written in English with American spelling and correct grammar and punctuation,
- in 12-point type, double-spaced throughout, including the Literature Cited section appendices, tables, and legends,
- marked with consecutive page numbers, beginning with the cover page.
The first page should contain:
- a concise, informative title that includes the name of the organism under study,
- the authors' names,
- the authors' institutional affiliations, including department; institution; and city, state or province, country if outside the United States, and postal code (do not include districts or street addresses),
- sequence, expression or other reference numbers for public repositories.
For the authors' names, indicate different affiliations with the superscript symbols: *, §, **, § § .
Use a numbered footnote to indicate an author's present address. Indicate a dedicatory footnote (if desired) with boldfaced type.
The second page contains:
- a short running title of about 35 characters, including spaces,
- up to five key words or phrases,
- the corresponding author's name, mailing address including street name and number, phone and fax numbers, and email address.
Abstract
The abstract serves many purposes. It should be written for people who may not read the entire paper, so it must stand on its own. The impression it makes usually determines whether the reader will go on to read the article, so the abstract must be engaging, clear, and concise. In addition, the abstract may be the only part of the article that is indexed in databases, so it must accurately reflect the content of the article. A well-written abstract is THE most effective way to reach intended readers, leading to more robust search, retrieval, and usage of the article.
The abstract is a synopsis of the entire article. It should begin with the broad context of the study, followed by specific background for the study, its purpose, methods and procedures, core findings and results, and the conclusions. The abstract should emphasize new or important aspects of the research. It should engage the broad readership of GENETICS and be understandable to a diverse audience; jargon must be avoided.
Abstracts are a single paragraph, must be fewer than 225 words, and may not contain citations or abbreviations. The abstract must contain the full name of the organism studied.
Introduction
For the introduction, authors should be mindful of the broad readership of the journal. The introduction should set the stage for the importance of the work to a generalist reader and draw the reader in to the specific study. The scope and impact of the work should be clearly stated. In individual organisms where a mutant is being studied, the rationale for the study of that mutation must be clear to a geneticist not studying that particular organism. Similarly, study of particular phenotypes should be justified broadly and not on the basis of interest for that organism alone. General background on the importance of the genetic pathway and/or phenotype should be provided in a single, well-reasoned paragraph near the beginning of the introduction.
Authors are encouraged to cite the supporting literature completely rather than select a subset of citations. Additionally, authors are encouraged to provide important background citations, including relevant review papers [to help orient the non-specialist reader] and to cite similar work in other organisms.
Materials and Methods
Manuscripts submitted to GENETICS should contain a clear description of the experimental design in sufficient detail so that the experimental analysis could be repeated by another scientist. For example, indicate how many individuals were used, and if applicable how individuals or groups were combined for analysis. If working with mutants indicate how many independent mutants were isolated. If working with populations indicate how samples were collected and whether they were random with respect to the target population. If the level of detail necessary to explain the protocol goes beyond two paragraphs, give a short description in the main body of the paper and prepare a detailed description for a supplement.
It is important to indicate what statistical analysis has been performed; not just the name of the software and options selected, but the method and model applied. In the case of many genes being examined simultaneously, or many phenotypes, a multiple comparison correction should be used to control the type I error rate, or a rationale for not applying a correction must be provided. The type of correction applied should be clearly stated. It should also be clear whether the p-values reported are raw, or after correction. Corrected p-values are often appropriate, but raw p-values should be available in the supplementary materials so that others may perform their own corrections.
Results and Discussion
The results and discussion should not be repetitive. The results section should give a factual presentation of the data and all tables and figures should be referenced. The discussion should not summarize the results but provide an interpretation of the results, and should clearly delineate between the findings of the particular study and the possible impact of those findings in a larger context. Present and discuss results only once, not in both the Results and Discussion sections. It is sometimes acceptable to combine results and discussion.
The text should be as succinct as possible. Heed Strunk and White誷 dictum: "Omit needless words!"
The text should conform to the style in recent issues of GENETICS.
With in text citations include both names for citations with two authors. Citations with three or more authors name the first author with et al. for the other authors. Cite only articles that are published or in press. To cite personal communications or unpublished results, list all contributors by initials and last name; do not use et al..
In the text, write out numbers nine or less except as part of a date, a fraction or decimal, a percentage, or a unit of measurement. Use Arabic numbers for those larger than nine, except as the first word of a sentence; however, try to avoid starting a sentence with such a number.
Use abbreviations of the customary units of measurement only when they are preceded by a number: "3 min" but "several minutes". Write "percent" as one word, except when used with a number: "several percent" but "75%." To indicate temperature in centigrade, use ° (for example, 37°); include a letter after the degree symbol only when some other scale is intended (for example, 45°K).
Italicize names of organisms only when the species is indicated: Neurospora, but Neurospora crassa or N. crassa. Italicize the first three letters of the names of restriction enzyme cleavage sites, as in HindIII. Write the names of strains in roman except when incorporating specific genotypic designations.
Italicize genotype names and symbols, including all components of alleles, but not when the name of a gene is the same as the name of an enzyme. Do not use "+" to indicate wild type. Carefully distinguish between genotype (italicized) and phenotype (not italicized) in both the writing and the symbolism.
To divide the text into sections, only these four levels are allowed:
- Level 1: Centered, all capital letters. Use this level for major sections of text, such as Materials and Methods and the Discussion.
- Level 2: Freestanding flush-left boldface. Use this level only to group two or more closely related Level 3 headings in long article.
- Level 3: Paragraph-initiating boldface, followed by a colon.
- Level 4: Paragraph-initiating italic. Level 4 headings may be numbered, but only when the numbers must be cited in the text.
FIGURES
To prevent publication delay, these guidelines should be followed when submitting figure files. A summary is included below and detailed information is available in the individual sections. Figures include drawings, graphs, mating-type charts, complex chemical formulas, and other sketches.
File Format
Acceptable file formats are:
- TIFF (.tiff)
- JPEG (.jpg)
- Microsoft Word (.doc)
- Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)
- EPS (.eps)
- Adobe Illustrator (.ai)
Formats not supported include: LaTex/Tex, Bitmap (.bmp), PICT (.pict), Excel (.xls), Photoshop (.psd), Canvas (.cnv), Corel Draw (.cdr), and PDFs (.pdf).
Resolution, Contrast, and Size
All files must conform to these resolution ranges:
- Halftone (color or black & white): 200-300 dpi
- Grayscale and color combination images: 300-500 dpi
- Line art images: 500-1000 dpi
RGB, CMYK, and Grayscale are all acceptable. Halftones should be high contrast with sharp detail, because some loss of detail and contrast is inevitable in the printing process. Good contrast is particularly important for chromatographs. Each file must be no larger than 10 MB; figures should be 10-20 cm in width and 1-25 cm in height. Graph axes must be exactly perpendicular and all lines of equal density (.5 point minimum).
Note that while there is a nominal charge for color figures in the main text ($100.00 for GSA members per figure), there is no charge for color figures in supplementary material.
Labels and Legends
For figures with multiple parts use A, B, etc. in non-bolded type to label the parts for easy reference within the text. If a figure has important areas to highlight, arrows or numbers can be used to draw attention to these areas. If the figure is submitted in unattached parts, include a scan of how these should be arranged in the printed version.
Label all figures in numerical order with Arabic numerals, and cite figures in the text in their numerical order. When preparing the manuscript for publication, the copyeditors will insert or relocate a citation, or will renumber figures as needed. Within the label, be sure to distinguish between similar characters, such as the letter l and the number 1 or the letter O and the number 0. Labels and legends should be Helvetica 10 point bold font. The label heading (Figure #) should be in all Caps.
Figure legends should be a self-contained description of the content of the figure and should provide enough detail to fully understand the data presented. Figure legends should start with a brief title. All conventional symbols used to indicate figure data points are available for typesetting; unconventional symbols should not be used. Mathematical variables (both in the figure legend and figure) should be italicized; all genotypes must be italicized. Any additional symbols that are normally italicized should continue to use italic rather than underlined roman characters. Note that Figures can be automatically converted into PowerPoint-ready slides available for download in the printed article.
Video and Movie Files
GENETICS supports video and movie files that can be linked from any portion of the article - including the abstract. Acceptable formats include .asf, avi, .wav, and all types of Windows Media files.
TABLES
Avoid shading, color type, line drawings, graphics, or other illustrations within tables. Use tables for data only; present drawings, graphics, and illustrations as separate figures. Histograms should not be used to present data that can be captured easily in text or small tables, as they take up much more space. Number tables and figures submitted in separate files to match the author pdf.
Format
The only acceptable file format is Microsoft Word (.doc), and each table must start on a new page, with long tables presented on several pages.
Layout
Title (required) ?Should be concise and list the table number in Arabic numerals. Tables should not be numbered 1A, 1B, etc., but if necessary, interior parts of the table can be labeled A, B, etc. for easy reference in the text.
Footnotes ?If used, these should be typed directly below the table, with lowercase, superscript italic letters (a, b, c, etc.). Use *, **, and *** to indicate conventional levels of statistical significance, explained below the table.
Tables should have clearly defined boxheads and bottom lines that are .5 point in weight. Use shorter horizontal rules within the boxhead to indicate unambiguously which subheadings are subordinate to a higher-level heading. Do not use vertical or diagonal rules and do not use horizontal rules between the boxhead and the closing rule. Each column in the boxhead should have a title, and each boxhead entry should refer to material beneath it and not to material to the right.
Labels and Legends
Labels for tables should be in all Caps and in Helvetica 10 point font. Material within the table should also be in Helvetica 10 point font and double-spaced. Any totals and sums should be in boldface type. A legend, if present, must precede any footnotes and should follow the font requirements for the labels and table text. Legends should be a self-contained description of the content and should provide enough detail to fully understand the data presented.
MATH CHARACTERS
To accurately represent the math characters in your article, please use MathType for equations that need math characters not found on your keyboard. If characters are set in text, this may result in errors and a delay in the processing of your accepted manuscript. Please contact the editorial office if you have any questions about submitting your files.
REFERENCES
The References section lists only articles that are published or in press. References should be formatted as they appear in a recent issue of GENETICS. Parenthetical references are cited in text chronologically. For author names, order references alphabetically by first author with a space between an author's initials. For multiple citations with the same first author, first list single-author entries by year using 1996a, 1996b, etc., then list two-author entries alphabetically by second author. Finally, list entries by three or more authors (cited in the text as "FIRST et al. 1996") only by year and without regard to number of authors or alphabetical rank of authors beyond the first. For articles with more than five authors, list the first five names and then "et al.".
Sample journal article citation:
Bridges, C. B., and E. G. Anderson, 1925 Crossing over in the X chromosomes of triploid females of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 10: 418?41. (Note spaces between authors' initials and after the boldface colon.)
(Note spaces between authors' initials and after the boldface colon.)
Sample book citation:
Sturtevant, A. H., and G. W. Beadle, 1939 An Introduction to Genetics. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia.
Sample chapter-in-book citation:
Beadle, G. W., 1957 The role of the nucleus in heredity, pp. 3?2 in The Chemical Basis of Heredity, edited by W. D. McElroy and B. Glass. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
We encourage authors to submit supporting information that enhances the published manuscript and which may be of interest to other investigators. Examples include tables, figures, movies, and extended Materials and Methods sections.
Enough detail must be provided between the text and the supporting information for the complete replication of the work by an independent scientist. In addition, authors are encouraged to provide information that may aid in the use of the results of the paper for additional studies. For example, in eQTL studies, the data needed to produce the summary cis and trans plot provides detailed information that another scientist seeking to understand what genes may be regulating their favorite gene may find extremely useful. Any information which enhances the impact and usefulness of the work presented is appropriate for the supplement. Other examples include complete analysis results (including those not statistically significant) for microarray analyses, metabolomic data or phenotypic data.
All supporting information is uploaded to the site by the editorial staff as one combined PDF and also as individual files. We provide hyperlinks within the published MS directly to each individual supporting file and one link to the combined supporting information file. This combined file is also appended to the published PDF for offline accessibility.
File Submission
You can submit files online at http://submit.genetics.org during the initial manuscript submission, or when the final manuscript source files are uploaded. Files are checked prior to advanced online publication to ensure conformity with GENETICS' style guidelines. If any changes are required, we will return the file(s) to you for corrections. The editorial office will publish all supporting information as it is submitted, without editing, proofreading, or alteration.
Please refer to each piece of supporting information at least once in the manuscript so that we can provide a hyperlink to the file. In-text citations belong at the end of the sentence in which the supporting information is referenced and should say (see Figure S#, Table S#, or File S#).
If uploading a file that is contains a Supporting Methods section with figures and tables, please let the editorial office know if this section should be uploaded as one file. Unless otherwise notified, the editorial office will upload each figure and table as a separate file.
File Format
Submit supporting information combined as one non-PDF file—preferably a Microsoft Word file. This file will be converted to a PDF prior to being uploaded. Please number each page with # SI, and format the numbering to start at 2. Page numbers should be located at the top, outside edge of the page and use New Baskerville type, 9 point in size. Additionally, please center your author information at the top of each page. For papers with three or more authors, use the first author's first and middle initials and full last name followed by et al. For papers with only two authors, include both names in the format of first and middle initials and full last name.
example
J.R. Smith et al.
J.R. Smith and S. Doe
If possible, the document should use a header margin of .25 inches and a 1 inch margin for all sides.
Please contact the editorial office if you have any questions about submitting your files. If necessary, individual files may be submitted in addition to the combined file (for example, videos, computer programs, or compressed data folders). In this case, please refer to the file in your combined document. An example the combined supporting information document is available here.
Supporting Figures
Supporting figures display a title and legend below the figure (FIGURE S#.—). "Figure" should use small caps and be followed by a capital S, Arabic number, period, and em dash. The Legend belongs on the same line as the title and both should use New Baskerville type in a regular weight, 9 point in size and single-spaced.
Multiple parts of a figure can be labeled with A, B, C, etc. Any references in the legend to a part of the figure should place the letter within parentheses at the beginning of the sentence. Please use New Baskerville type in a regular weight.
Supporting Tables
Supporting tables display a centered number and title at the top of the table with the title below the number (TABLE S#). The first word of the title should use initial caps and no period is necessary unless the title is a complete sentence. Type is New Baskerville in a bold weight, 9 point in size and double-spaced.
Type for the table body is New Baskerville in a regular weight, 9 point in size and spaced one and a half points. Please display totals and sums in a bold weight.
Any legend(s) or footnote(s) below the table use New Baskerville type in a regular weight, 9 point in size. The first line of the legend should be indented 0.15 inches with double-spaced text. Footnote text is single-spaced. Where applicable, use *, **, and *** to indicate conventional levels of statistical significance.
To order the information, please use table lines that are 0.5 point in weight and have clearly defined boxheads. Use shorter horizontal rules within the boxhead to indicate which subheadings are subordinate to a higher-level heading. Do not use vertical or diagonal rules, and do not use horizontal rules between the boxhead and the closing rule. When possible, each column in the boxhead should have a title, and each boxhead entry should refer to material beneath it and not to material to the right.
Supporting Files
Supporting files refer to material other than figures and tables. Examples include additional Materials and Method sections, reference papers, computer programs, and videos.
For each file, please use a title if applicable. The title should be centered at the top of the page in initial and small caps and use New Baskerville type in a bold weight, 9 point in size and double-spaced (FILE S#). If included, a legend should follow the same type recommendations and may be centered below the title. Body text uses New Baskerville type in a regular weight, 9 point in size and double-spaced. References and other sections or information not discussed here should follow the style of recent issues of GENETICS.
When submitting videos or computer applications, please compress them as needed to reduce the file size. Although these files will not be included in the combined PDF, please refer to them in the combined document as shown for File S2 in the sample PFD—the editorial office will provide the web address for the files.
Summary
|
Supporting Figures |
Supporting Tables |
Supporting Files |
| Number |
FIGURE S#.—
Indent 0.15 inches, below figure
New Baskerville, 9pt
Regular weight
Single-spaced |
TABLE S#
Center top of page
New Baskerville, 9pt
Bold weight
Double-spaced |
FILE S#
Center top of page
New Baskerville, 9pt
Bold weight
Double-spaced |
| Title/Legend |
Follows number
New Baskerville, 9pt
Regular weight
Single-spaced |
Center below number
New Baskerville, 9pt
Bold weight
Double-spaced |
Center below number
New Baskerville, 9pt
Bold weight
Double-spaced |
| Labels |
Capital Letters (A-Z) |
Not applicable |
Not applicable |
| Body |
Not applicable |
New Baskerville, 9pt
Regular weight
1.5 line spacing
Bold weight for sums and totals |
New Baskerville, 9pt
Regular weight
Double-spaced
| |
| Table Lines |
Not applicable |
0.5 wt.
Defined boxheads
No vertical or diagonal lines |
Not applicable |
CHOOSING A SECTION
Please choose the appropriate section for the paper.
