Instructions to authors
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Pre-submission language editing
Scope of the journal
Synthetic Biology (SYNBIO) covers all aspects of synthetic biology; including papers on the mathematical modelling and practical engineering in the field.
This includes genetic systems, artificial gene networks, genetic circuit design, computational methods, viral engineering, cell design and construction, assembly platforms, DNA synthesis, synthetic metagenomics, pathway construction, gene optimization, protein engineering, metabolic engineering, programmed evolution, cellular manufacturing, mathematical modelling and engineering processes.
The aim of the journal is to provide a forum for original research papers, reviews, commentaries, reports on practical projects, and a venue for in-depth discussion on the topics relevant to synthetic biology.
Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and contributors.
The Journal does not allow ghost authorship, where an unnamed author prepares the article with no credit, or guest/gift authorship, where an author who made little or no contribution is listed as an author. The Journal follows Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on investigating and resolving these cases. For more information, please see the OUP Publication Ethics page.
Natural language processing tools driven by artificial intelligence (AI) do not qualify as authors, and the Journal will screen for them in author lists. The use of AI (for example, to help generate content or images, write code, process data, or for translation) should be disclosed both in cover letters to editors and in the Methods or Acknowledgements section of manuscripts. Please see the COPE position statement on Authorship and AI for more details.
After manuscript submission, no authorship changes (including the authorship list, author order, and who is designated as the corresponding author) should be made unless there is a substantive reason to do so. The editor and all co-authors must agree on the change(s), and neither the Journal nor the publisher mediates authorship disputes. If individuals cannot agree on the authorship of a submitted manuscript, contact the editorial office at [email protected]. The dispute must be resolved among the individuals and their institution(s) before the manuscript can be accepted for publication. If an authorship dispute or change arises after a paper is accepted, contact OUP’s Author Support team. COPE provides guidance for authors on resolving authorship disputes.
After submission, changing who is designated as the corresponding author will be permitted only where there is a substantive reason to do so. For the avoidance of doubt, changing the corresponding author in order to access Read and Publish funding is not permissible. For more information on Read and Publish funding, see the Open access section.
Group Authorship
Groups (also known as corporate, organization, or collective names) who meet authorship criteria should be included in the main author list. Every individual in the group should fully meet the criteria for authorship. At least one individual must be designated on behalf of the group as the primary point of contact during the peer-review and production processes, as well as for correspondence following publication. You may list this individual separately in the main author list if desired. A complete list of the individual members of the group must be included in the manuscript under Acknowledgements.
The group name will be entered for a PubMed citation. The names of the individual members of the group will be entered as collaborator names for a PubMed citation, in the order in which they are published in the paper. If an individual is named both in the main author list and as a member of the group, they will appear in PubMed as both an author and a collaborator.
ORCID IDs
Synthetic Biology supports ORCID in creating unique identifiers for researchers. We believe that major advances in digital technology will come from linked open data and that linking the correct scientist with the correct output is part of that process. We strongly encourage authors to register for ORCID, and provide us with their identifier so that we can link to it. You can sign up through ScholarOne during submission, or at ORCID.org. Visit this page for more information.
Synthetic Biology requires submitting authors to provide an ORCID ID at submission to the journal. More information on ORCID and the benefits of using an ORCID ID is available. If you do not already have an ORCID ID, you can register for free via the ORCID website.
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors
The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal.
A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial, could influence or be seen to influence the opinions or activities of the individual. For more information, refer to OUP’s definition of conflict of interest. The Journal follows the COPE guidance for any undisclosed conflict of interest that emerges during peer review, production, or after publication.
Peer reviewers
Individuals that have a conflict of interest relating to a submitted manuscript should recuse themselves and will not be assigned to oversee, handle, or peer review the manuscript.
If during peer review an editor, reviewer, or author becomes aware of a conflict of interest that was not previously known or disclosed they must inform the Editor-in-Chief immediately.
Editors and editorial board members
At initial submission, the corresponding author must declare if the Editor-in-Chief, an editor, or an Editorial Board Member of the Journal is an author of or contributor to the manuscript. Another editor without a conflict of interest will oversee the peer review and decision-making process. If accepted, a statement will be published in the paper describing how the manuscript was handled. The statement will read “[Author name] holds the position of [role] for Synthetic Biology and has not peer reviewed or made any editorial decisions for this paper."
Appeals and complaints
Authors may appeal an editorial decision. To do so, please contact the editorial office at [email protected] providing as much specific detail as possible about why the original decision should be reconsidered. Every appeal will receive a response within a reasonable timeframe. Please do not resubmit your manuscript in the interim.
To register a complaint regarding non-editorial decisions, the Journal’s policies and procedures, editors, or staff, please contact [email protected]. Complaints will be taken seriously and will be carried forward following COPE guidelines and processes.
Article types
Research Article: Report on important original research relevant to the scope of Synthetic Biology, not normally more than 10,000 words.
Review Article: Provide an introduction to, and update on, recent progress in a particular field, which is accessible to a researcher not working directly in that discipline. Short format papers of approximately 5,000 words and less than 100 references are preferred. Review articles are generally invited; pre-submissions enquiries are encouraged prior to submitting an unsolicited review manuscript.
Short Communications: These are short research articles (2000 words maximum) reporting new tools, resources, methods, devices or platforms of interest to the synthetic biology community. These articles are not required to describe a specific application of the tools they introduce nor do they need to solve a specific engineering challenge. Instead, their focus should be on the description of the technology in a way that would make it possible for others to use it. The article should be organized like Research articles except that Results and Discussion and can be combined.
Datasets: Articles describing collections of DNA sequences possibly accompanied by phenotypic data. The focus of dataset articles is on the description of the datasets including data collection protocols, experimental designs, and the structure of the data. Datasets need to be provided in a computer-readable format. Datasets articles do not include any data analysis. Datasets can be published either to complement the information provided in a previously published article or prior to publishing an extensive analysis of the data.
Software: Short articles, not normally exceeding 5,000 words, which introduce and describe new computational resources relevant to the field. This can include stand-alone software, software libraries, web services, and databases. Articles considered for inclusion in this category will be evaluated on the quality of the implementation, usability, and availability more than on the novelty of the underlying computational methods. Computational resources that rely on innovative algorithms should be submitted as Research Articles.
Education: Education articles can include historical reviews, practical tutorials, compilations of YouTube videos, description of a course, and reports of iGEM or DIYBio projects. Education articles should aim for 2,500 words. Education articles are generally invited; pre-submission enquiries are encouraged prior to submitting an unsolicited Education manuscript.
Perspectives: Perspectives present a personal and original opinion on an important research-related topic of interest to the synthetic biology community, rather than a balanced review of this topic. The aim should be to stimulate debate or new research, cover controversial topics, or provide a new framework for, or interpretation of, an old problem or current issue, or speculate on the implications of some recent research. Although Perspectives articles can be more "forward looking" than Reviews, authors should refrain from being overly speculative. Perspectives should not exceed 2,000 words and 25 references.
Conference Articles: Conference Articles develop on ideas initially published in one or more conference proceedings. Submissions should not be a verbatim copy of the conference paper, although the results presented may be the same. The submission should indicate and provide copies of the conference articles that the paper builds upon. Conference Article submissions require a cover letter to explain the relation between the Synthetic Biology submission and the conference publications, highlighting what was not presented or included in the conference publication.
Synthetic Biology News: Short articles (typically 500 words) that inform nonspecialist readers about new developments in synthetic biology as reported in recently published papers or preprints. These articles are commissioned.
The suggested maximum word counts exclude the Abstract and References.
Streamlined submission
Synthetic Biology has a streamlined process designed to avoid unnecessary work. Please submit your manuscript to the journal’s online submission system.
Instructions on how to use the online submission system are available.
To contact the editorial office, please email [email protected].
At submission authors should upload their work in either pdf or word doc. format via the online submission system. If you have written your manuscript in LaTeX and it is accepted for publication you will be asked to upload your source files before your manuscript is sent to the production team.
Basic formatting guide
Synthetic Biology is using a dual publication model. Articles are first published in their accepted form (labelled ‘Accepted manuscript’) and they are replaced at a later date by the final version (labelled ‘Corrected proof’). It is therefore important that manuscripts confirm to the below requirements at submission stage, so that articles in their accepted form are clear and accessible to readers. Manuscripts should be ordered as follows:
(i) Title page
On the first page please include the title of the paper, author names with superscript numbers used to match authors to their affiliations, a list of author affiliations and the email address of the corresponding author. The corresponding author should be designated with an asterisk (*). If there are multiple corresponding authors, please nominate one for communication with the editorial office.
(ii) Abstract and key words
On a new page please include your abstract and a list of key words. We suggest a maximum length of 250 words for the abstract. Please avoid reference citations and abbreviations in the abstract. Please include a list of up to five key words/short phrases, separated by semicolons.
(iii) Main text
Please begin the main body of your article on a new page. Research articles should ideally be divided into the following sections:
- Introduction
- Materials and methods
- Results
- Discussion (this section can sometimes be combined with the Results section)
Second level headings are also permitted and should be numbered accordingly, e.g. 2.1 Reagents.
(iv) Material Availability Statement
Authors must include a Material Availability statement to provide information about the availability of the materials and resources described in the article, including any restrictions in availability or use such as a Material Transfer Agreement. We recommend the use of the Open Material Transfer Agreement. If the material is subject to a non-standard MTA, authors are encouraged to upload the MTA template as Supplementary Material as “Supplementary Files for Review”.
Authors submitting manuscripts describing plasmids are strongly encouraged to consider depositing them with Addgene, the nonprofit plasmid repository. Addgene accepts pre-publication deposits so plasmids can be ready to request concurrently with the article publication. More information is available under the Material sharing policy heading .
(v) Data Availability statement
Please include a statement of data availability that is compliant with our data availability policy. For example: Supplementary Data available at SYNBIO online; Data available at doi:10.5061/dryad.XXXX; Data available at GEO Series accession number GSE123456 and Proteome Xchange database PXD1234567; Data not publicly available.
Authors are asked to complete an online Data Availability Checklist at submission, which is appended to the manuscript for reviewer and editor use. A copy of the Data Availability Checklist is provided for reference.
Where datasets have a DOI, please cite the data in the text, and place the citation in the reference section. If your supplementary data are included in the article online supplement, please submit all relevant files as “Supplementary Files for Review”. In this case, cite the supplementary file in the manuscript where applicable.
(vi) Acknowledgements (if any)
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the ‘Acknowledgements’ section.
(vii) Funding (if any)
Please refer to your funding organizations for the correct way to acknowledge their support.
(viii) Conflict of Interest Disclosure
Please include the following statement if you have no conflict of interest to disclose: ‘No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.’ If a conflict of interest does exist, please include the details of the conflict.
(ix) References
References should be provided in number order as endnotes, with in-text cues in parentheses, e.g. (1). Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references. Examples of the referencing format for journal articles, book chapters and online sources can be found below:
- Hockenberry,A.J. and Jewett,M.C. (2012) Synthetic in vitro circuits. Curr. Opin. Chem. Biol., 16, 253–259.
- Freitas,F., Alves,V. and Reis,M.M. Bacterial polysaccharides: production and applications in cosmetic industry. In: Ramawat,K.G. and Mérillon,J. (eds). Polysaccharides. Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2014, pp. 1–24.
- CRNSimulator Mathematica Package. http://users.ece.utexas.edu/soloveichik/crnsimulator.html (20 March 2017, date last accessed).
(x) Tables
Supply any tables in an editable format (such as Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint), not as an image file. Avoid overcrowding and excessive formatting, such as the use of colour and shading which are not replicated in the published web version, and the use of tabbed spacing to indicate alignment. Ensure that any formatting or superscript symbols such as asterisks are explained in the table footnote. All tables provided should be cited within the article text.
(xi) Figures
At initial submission, figures can be placed wherever the authors think is best, but should be large enough to be readable and include a caption. You are required to submit high-resolution images at revision stage, and a figure legend list must be included at the end of the main document. Try to avoid unnecessary clutter in figures. Please use a common image format for figures (e.g. pdf, eps, gif, tif, jpg). Please ensure that you have obtained the necessary permissions for any figures used.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
(xii) Online Supplement (if any)
The online supplement, preferably provided in one PDF file, that includes information not essential for inclusion in the main text of the manuscript, but would nevertheless benefit the reader, will be placed online by the journal and linked to from the manuscript.
The material should not be essential to comprehension of the article, but should be relevant to article content. Supporting material might include more detailed methods, additional figures, mathematical derivations, or any other information that supports or augment the article. Figures, Tables, Equations included in the Online Supplement should be numbered Figure S1, Table S2 and referenced in the manuscript.
The Online Supplement cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted, and will not be edited.
The Online Supplement should not include raw supplementary data that should be provided in separate files as described in the data sharing policy.
(xiii) Videos (if any)
Videos can be published in the online article, with a still image of the video appearing in the print version. Please submit videos in MP4 format. Still images to be used in the print version should attempt to represent the main subject of the video. Any supplementary videos that you do not want to be included in the article itself can be uploaded as supplementary data. All videos should have an accompanying legend.
(xiv) Graphical Abstract
Authors are required to submit a graphical abstract or video abstract as part of the article, in addition to the text abstract. The graphical/video abstract should clearly summarize the focus and findings of the article, and will be published as part of the article online and in PDF. The graphical/video abstract should be submitted for peer review as a separate file, selecting the appropriate file-type designation in the journal’s online submission system. The file should be clearly named, e.g. graphical_abstract.tiff, video_abstract.mp4. See the Preparing and submitting your manuscript page for guidance on appropriate file format and resolution for graphics and videos. Note that graphical abstracts will be subject to any print reproduction charges that the journal levies for colour figures.
(xv) General
Please define non-standard abbreviations at the first occurrence and number figures and tables consecutively. The entire manuscript should be double-spaced and the minimum font size is 12 pt. Paragraphs should be indented.
Upon revision, papers should ideally be submitted in an editable file format. Figures should be submitted as separate, high-resolution files.
Pre-submission language editing
You may wish to use a language-editing service before submitting to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your manuscript. Our publisher, Oxford University Press, partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Through the OUP-Enago partner page, prospective authors are entitled to a discount for language editing, abstract and layperson summary writing, rejected manuscript editing, and creation of graphical abstracts, illustrations, and videos.
Enago is an independent service provider, which will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing and other services from Enago are optional and do not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will undergo the regular review process of the Journal. For more details and a list of additional resources, please see OUP’s page on language services.
Open access
Synthetic Biology is a fully open access journal, and all articles are published in the journal under an open access licence immediately upon publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND licence - $3250
CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND licence – Synthetic Biology News articles - $0
Corresponding authors based in countries and regions, that are part of the developing countries initiative are eligible for a full waiver of publishing fees in our fully open access journals. For further details, please see our APC Waiver Policy.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
Waiver Requests
Under Synthetic Biology full open access model the journal’s costs are covered primarily by author publication charges (rather than subscription fees). Synthetic Biology has a small budget for waiving open access charges for authors in developing countries and others in genuine financial hardship. Funds for waivers are limited, however, as the journal would not be sustainable without income from author charges to cover its costs. The Synthetic Biology Editors hope that contributors to Synthetic Biology will support the journal’s open access model by paying the publication charges if they are able to do so.
In general, requests for waivers from authors with funding sources outlined in the 'Funds to pay publication charges' section above cannot be considered.
Authors wishing to submit a waiver request should email [email protected] citing their reasons for requesting a waiver, at the time of manuscript submission. More details on OUP’s APC waiver policy can be found here. As outlined above, we have a special publication charge policy for authors from developing countries included in the OUP Developing Countries Initiative; for example, all Corresponding authors based in List A countries will automatically be eligible for a full waiver.
LaTeX
Please see the following page for guidance on LaTeX files and formatting and for the OUP LaTeX template.
Further information on working with LaTeX is available here.
