Author Guidelines

Plant Science Horizons (PSH) provides detailed guidance for manuscript preparation, transparent scientific reporting, ethical compliance, peer review, data sharing, and publication. Authors should read these instructions before submission and ensure that all required files and declarations are complete.

Scope, novelty and editorial expectations

Plant Science Horizons is an international peer-reviewed open-access journal covering fundamental, translational, and applied research across plant biology and crop science. Relevant areas include molecular and cellular biology, genetics and genomics, epigenetics, physiology, biochemistry, development, plant–microbe interactions, biotechnology, bioinformatics, systems biology, breeding, stress biology, ecology, sustainable agriculture, and crop improvement.

Submissions must present a clearly defined scientific question, appropriate experimental or analytical design, rigorous evidence, and conclusions supported by the data. Studies that are primarily descriptive, repetitive, inadequately replicated, methodologically weak, or lacking a clear contribution to plant science may be declined during editorial assessment.

Manuscripts must be original, written in professional academic English, and not simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Editors may return manuscripts before peer review when presentation, reporting, scope, novelty, or ethical documentation is insufficient.

Manuscript types and recommended limits

Limits apply to the main text unless otherwise stated. References, figure legends, tables, and supplementary material are excluded from the word count. Reasonable exceptions may be considered when scientifically justified.

Files required at initial submission

Cover letter

The cover letter should be concise and should state:

Title page requirements

• Full manuscript title that is specific, informative, and free of unnecessary abbreviations.
• Running title of approximately 50 characters or fewer where feasible.
• Full names of all authors in the intended publication order.
• Complete institutional affiliations linked to authors using superscript identifiers where needed.
• Corresponding author name, institutional address, and active email address.
• ORCID iDs for authors where available; authors are strongly encouraged to link validated ORCID records.
• Present address for any author whose affiliation changed after the work was completed.
• Equal-contribution or joint-supervision statements, where applicable.

Abstract, highlights, significance and keywords

Graphical abstract guidance

• Use one clear visual narrative rather than a collage of unrelated panels.
• Prefer a landscape format and sufficient resolution for online display; a width of at least 1200 pixels is recommended.
• Keep labels short and readable; avoid long paragraphs, detailed methods, references, and unexplained abbreviations.
• Use original artwork or material for which the authors hold appropriate permission.
• Do not manipulate images in a way that alters scientific meaning.
• The graphical abstract should complement, not duplicate, the manuscript title and abstract.

Structure of Original Research Articles

Materials and Methods: minimum reporting standards

Methods must permit an informed reader to understand and, where feasible, reproduce the work. Report:

• Experimental design, controls, treatments, sampling scheme, experimental units, and number of independent biological replicates.
• How sample size was determined, where relevant, and any inclusion/exclusion criteria.
• Randomization, blocking, blinding, or allocation procedures when applicable.
• Names, suppliers, catalog numbers, lot information, or accession identifiers for critical reagents and biological resources where necessary for reproducibility.
• Instrument models and essential acquisition settings when these affect interpretation.
• Software, packages, databases, versions, and important analysis parameters.
• Previously published methods by citation, with all substantive modifications described.
• Appropriate positive and negative controls and validation procedures.

Plant material, growth conditions and field studies

Species, genes, proteins and abbreviations

• Italicize genus and species names and provide the full binomial at first mention.
• Follow accepted organism-specific conventions for gene and locus symbols; gene symbols are generally italicized, whereas protein names are written in roman type.
• Use approved gene, protein, metabolite, chemical, and taxonomic nomenclature whenever available.
• Define non-standard abbreviations at first use and avoid abbreviations in titles unless widely recognized.
• Use SI units and internationally accepted symbols throughout.

Statistics and experimental replication

• Distinguish clearly between biological replicates and technical replicates.
• State the exact sample size (n) and what n represents for every experiment.
• Identify statistical tests, assumptions, transformations, post-hoc procedures, correction for multiple comparisons, and significance thresholds.
• Define all error bars (e.g., SD, SEM, confidence interval) in each figure legend.
• Report exact P values when practical rather than relying only on threshold symbols.
• Use methods appropriate to the experimental design; avoid pseudoreplication and treating technical replicates as independent biological observations.
• For high-dimensional data, describe normalization, filtering, false-discovery-rate control, model specification, and batch-effect handling where relevant.

Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and bioinformatics

For studies generating or reanalyzing large datasets, authors should provide:

• Raw-data and processed-data repository accession numbers before final acceptance whenever a suitable public repository exists.
• Complete information on read processing, alignment/assembly, reference genomes, annotations, software versions, parameters, and quality-control thresholds.
• For RNA-seq or similar studies, sufficient biological replication and an appropriate differential-analysis framework.
• For public-data reanalysis, stable accession numbers and a clear explanation of sample selection and inclusion criteria.
• For machine-learning studies, transparent feature construction, train/validation/test strategy, avoidance of data leakage, performance metrics, and independent validation where feasible.
• For custom pipelines or scripts essential to the conclusions, public code or archived executable workflows should be provided whenever possible.

Data availability and code availability

A section titled Data Availability is required for all research articles. The statement should explain where the data supporting the conclusions can be accessed and provide accession numbers, persistent identifiers, repository links, or justified restrictions where applicable.

If no new datasets were generated, state this clearly. Data necessary to verify the major conclusions should not be withheld solely because they are inconvenient to share. Restrictions based on privacy, legal, biodiversity, proprietary, or contractual considerations should be explained.

Custom code, scripts, trained models, or workflows central to the conclusions should be deposited in a stable repository or otherwise made available with sufficient documentation to reproduce the analysis.

Figure preparation and image integrity

• Number figures in the order cited and label multi-panel figures consistently (A, B, C...).
• Use readable fonts, consistent symbols, and accessible color combinations; do not rely on color alone to encode essential information.
• Scale bars must be included when size or spatial context is important.
• Figure legends must define symbols, abbreviations, sample sizes, error bars, and statistical annotations.
• Brightness, contrast, or color adjustments must be applied consistently to the entire image and must not obscure, eliminate, or fabricate information.
• Splicing, selective enhancement, cloning, or rearrangement that changes interpretation is prohibited. Any legitimate assembly of lanes or images must be clearly indicated.
• Editors may request uncropped/raw images, original microscopy files, blot images, or underlying numerical data during review or after publication.

Tables and data presentation

• Submit tables as editable text rather than images.
• Number tables consecutively and provide a concise, self-contained title.
• Define all abbreviations, statistical markers, and special symbols in table footnotes.
• Avoid unnecessary vertical rules, decorative formatting, and duplication of information already shown in figures.
• Large datasets or extensive tables should normally be placed in supplementary material or a public repository.

Supplementary information

Supplementary files should contain material that supports the article but is not essential to understanding the main narrative. All supplementary items must be cited in the main manuscript and numbered consistently (e.g., Figure S1, Table S1).

Supplementary material is part of the scholarly record and should therefore be complete, clearly labeled, appropriately described, and free of material that cannot legally be published.

PSH reference style

Plant Science Horizons uses a numbered citation style. References are cited sequentially in the order of first appearance using square brackets, for example [1], [2], or [3–5].

Download the Plant Science Horizons Reference Style

• Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of every reference.
• Include DOI information where available.
• References should directly support the statement for which they are cited.
• Avoid excessive self-citation, citation padding, or references included solely to influence citation metrics.
• Bibliographic software such as EndNote, Zotero, or another reference manager is strongly recommended.

General manuscript formatting

• Submit the main manuscript in an editable word-processing format, preferably DOCX.
• Use a clear standard font and consistent heading hierarchy.
• Include page numbers and continuous line numbers to facilitate review.
• Use SI units and standard scientific symbols.
• Define abbreviations at first use and use them consistently thereafter.
• Number equations when they are cited elsewhere in the manuscript.
• Do not use manual spaces or repeated tabs to align text or construct tables.

Authorship and CRediT contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions and who accept responsibility for the work. All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and its author order.

A contribution statement using the CRediT taxonomy is strongly encouraged. Roles may include conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, software, data curation, visualization, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission require a written explanation and agreement from all affected authors. The journal may decline changes that are inadequately justified.

Ethical approvals, permits and responsible research

• Human or animal research, when relevant to the submitted plant-science study, must include appropriate ethics approval and consent statements.
• Field collection of plants, seeds, tissues, microorganisms, or endangered/protected material must comply with applicable permits and legal requirements.
• Authors should comply with relevant access-and-benefit-sharing requirements and institutional or national biosafety regulations where applicable.
• Work involving genetically modified organisms, gene-edited material, quarantine organisms, or regulated pathogens must follow appropriate biosafety and containment requirements.
• The journal may request supporting documentation when ethical or legal compliance is unclear.

Originality, plagiarism and redundant publication

Manuscripts may be screened using similarity-detection software. A similarity percentage is not interpreted mechanically; editors evaluate the nature, source, location, and scholarly significance of overlapping text.

• Plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated images, fabricated citations, and undisclosed duplicate publication are prohibited.
• Authors must disclose closely related manuscripts, conference papers, datasets, or publications that may overlap with the submission.
• Fragmentation of one coherent study into multiple minimally differentiated papers (“salami slicing”) should be avoided.
• Text recycling should be limited and transparently handled, especially in methods where some similarity may be unavoidable.
• PSH may correct, retract, or otherwise amend the scholarly record when warranted by evidence and accepted publication-ethics practice.

Use of AI and AI-assisted technologies

• AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the integrity of the work.
• Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted text, figures, analyses, references, and conclusions.
• Use of generative AI beyond routine spelling, grammar, or language polishing should be disclosed in the manuscript or cover letter with enough detail to understand how it was used.
• AI-generated or AI-modified scientific data, images, or citations must not be presented as authentic experimental evidence.
• Authors must verify every citation, factual statement, and analytical output produced with AI assistance.

Preprints and conference dissemination

Manuscripts previously posted on a recognized preprint server may be submitted to PSH provided the preprint is disclosed at submission. Authors should also disclose relevant conference abstracts, posters, theses, or other prior dissemination when substantial content overlaps. Posting a preprint does not remove the requirement that the manuscript submitted to PSH is not simultaneously under formal review by another journal.

Suggested and opposed reviewers

Authors may suggest 3–5 qualified reviewers. Suggestions should include full name, institutional affiliation, professional email address, and relevant expertise.

Suggested reviewers should be independent of the authors and should not have a recent close collaboration, supervisory relationship, direct financial conflict, or other relationship that could compromise impartiality.

Authors may identify a limited number of researchers they prefer not to review the manuscript and should provide a brief reason. The editor retains full discretion over reviewer selection.

Peer review and editorial assessment

Preparing a revised manuscript

A revision should normally include:

• A detailed point-by-point response to every editor and reviewer comment.
• A clean revised manuscript.
• A marked or tracked version showing changes, when requested.
• Revised figures, tables, supplementary files, and declarations where applicable.
• Clear justification when a requested change was not made.
• Updated data/code accession information if data deposition was incomplete at initial submission.

Production files and proof correction

Accepted manuscripts undergo editorial production, copyediting, typesetting, metadata preparation, and author proofing. Authors may be asked to provide editable source files, high-resolution figures, completed declarations, accession numbers, and any missing publication metadata.

Proofs are intended to correct production errors, not to introduce substantial new data or rewrite the accepted manuscript. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating proof review with all coauthors and returning corrections promptly.

Article processing charges, copyright and licensing

Plant Science Horizons currently waives article processing charges through 2029. Authors are not charged an APC under this waiver policy.

PSH publishes articles on an open-access basis. Authors retain copyright subject to the Creative Commons license specified for the published article and the journal's current licensing policy.

Corrections, concerns, appeals and complaints

Authors should contact the editorial office promptly if they identify a material error after publication. Depending on the nature of the issue, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other amendment to preserve the accuracy of the scholarly record.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they can identify a substantive scientific or procedural basis. Appeals should address the decision in a focused, evidence-based manner rather than simply expressing disagreement. Complaints concerning editorial process, ethics, or publication practice are considered separately from scientific appeals.

Pre-submission checklist

Commitment to rigorous and transparent plant science

Plant Science Horizons is committed to scientific quality, reproducibility, publication ethics, transparent peer review, responsible data stewardship, and clear scholarly communication. Complete reporting at submission helps editors and reviewers evaluate manuscripts efficiently and strengthens the reliability and long-term value of the published record.