Guide for Authors

It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the journal's editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.

Ensure that the following items are present:

• One author designated as corresponding author:
- E-mail address
- Full postal address
- Telephone and fax numbers
• All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords• All figure captions• All tables (including title, description, footnotes

Further considerations • Manuscript has been "spellchecked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Web)
• Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended for colour reproduction or to be reproduced in black-and-white

For any further information please contact the Author Support Department at authorsupport@elsevier.com


Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology publishes original research papers, reviews, and commentaries on all aspects of the molecular biology, biochemistry, physiology, cell biology, genetics, cytology, ultrastructure, and evolution of plant-microbe interactions involving pathogenic or mutualistic organisms. Work of a trivial nature, even though it may have been competently performed, will not be published. Papers on new techniques, or work based on studies in pure culture, must have a direct bearing on the host-microbe interaction to be acceptable.



General

It is essential to give a fax number and e-mail address when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be written in good English.

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' (for more information on this and copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail (or letter) will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact Elsevier's Rights Department, Oxford, UK: phone (+44) 1865 843830, fax (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage ( http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions).

US National Institutes of Health (NIH) voluntary posting (" Public Access") policy
Elsevier facilitates author response to the NIH voluntary posting request (referred to as the NIH "Public Access Policy"; see http://www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/index.htm) by posting the peer-reviewed author's manuscript directly to PubMed Central on request from the author, 12 months after formal publication. Upon notification from Elsevier of acceptance, we will ask you to confirm via e-mail (by e-mailing us at NIHauthorrequest@elsevier.com) that your work has received NIH funding and that you intend to respond to the NIH policy request, along with your NIH award number to facilitate processing. Upon such confirmation, Elsevier will submit to PubMed Central on your behalf a version of your manuscript that will include peer-review comments, for posting 12 months after formal publication. This will ensure that you will have responded fully to the NIH request policy. There will be no need for you to post your manuscript directly with PubMed Central, and any such posting is prohibited.

Authors' rights
As an author, you retain rights for large number of author uses, including use by your employing institute or company. These rights are retained and permitted without the need to obtain specific permission from Elsevier. To see what rights the author retains, see the Copyright Information on http://www.elsevier.com/authorrights.

Should authors be requested by the editor to revise the text, the revised version should be submitted within 6 weeks. After this period, the article will be regarded as a new submission.

Submission Process

Submission to this journal proceeds totally on-line. See http://ees.elsevier.com/ypmpp, you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. Once the uploading is done, our system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be by e-mail.

The above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this 'Guide for Authors' section from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.

If online submission is not possible, manuscripts may be submitted by sending the source files on disk together with a matching hard copy (both text and figures and tables) by registered mail to the editor. (Please note that this is not the preferred way of submission and could cause a delay in publication of the article.)

Professor Ray Hammerschmidt
Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology
Elsevier Editorial Services Office
Bampflyde Street, Exeter
Devon EX1 2AH, UK

Telephone: +44 (0) 1392 251558
Fax: +44 (0) 1392 425370
E-mail: pmpp@elsevier.com

Please submit, with the manuscript, the names and addresses (including fax number and email address) of 3 potential referees.



General points

Word or WordPerfect is preferred.

Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files using the default extension of the program used.

Word processor documents
It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. Do not embed 'graphically designed' equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/howtosubmitpaper). Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your word processor.

Preparation of Text

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are to be used for expressions of Latin origin, for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above).

English language help service: Upon request, Elsevier will direct Authors to an agent who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact www.elsevier.com/locate/elsevierpublishing for further information.

Use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins and it helps to have each line numbered in the left hand margin. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal or refer to the sample issue online at http://sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08855765 to become familiar with layout and conventions.

The following information should be provided on the title page (in the order given).

Title. Titles should be concise and informative. They are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Author names and affiliations. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who is to handle correspondence at all stages of pre- and post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.

Abstract. A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length 100 words). An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand-alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.

Keywords. Immediately after the abstract, provide a list of keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). The keywords should include the complete scientific names of all plants and micro-organisms used and should also cover the topic investigated and special techniques used. Only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

The following abbreviations may be used without definition except in the title and abstract:

absorbance (e.g. absorbance at 310)	A(A310)
adenosine, mono-, di-, triphosphate	AMP, ADP, ATP
approximately	approx. (not c. or ca.)
becquerel	Bq (1 Ci = 3.7 x 1010 Bq)
bovine serum albumin	BSA
centigrade	use Celsius; (° C)
centimetre (10-2) x m	cm
coenzyme A and acetyl derivatives	CoA and Acetyl CoA
colony forming units	cfu
concentration	concn (in tables only)
counts per minute	ct min-1
cultivar	cv.
dalton	Da
deci (10-1 x )	d; e.g. dm
degree absolute (Kelvin)	°K = °C + 273
deoxyribonucleic acid, deoxyribonuclease complementary DNA	DNA, Dnase, cDNA
disintegrations per minute	d min-1
dry weight	d. wt
Einstein(s)	E
electron microscope (transmission and scanning)	TEM, SEM
ethylene diaminetetraacetate	EDTA
experiment	Expt (in tables only)
femto (10-15 x )	f; e.g. fg
fresh weight	fresh wt
gas chromatography-mass spectrometry	GC-MS
gas liquid chromatography	GCL
grams(s)	g
hectare	ha
high performance liquid chromatography	HPLC
hour	h
joule (kg m2 s-2)	J, I calorie = 4.18 J
kilo (103 x )	k; e.g. kg, km
least significant difference	LSD
litre	l, do not abbreviate when confusion could arise with number one
mass spectrometry	MS
mega (106 x )	M
metre	m
Michaelis constant	Km
micro (10-6 x )	μ e.g. μg
micromolar	μM
milli (10-3 x)	m; e.g. mm, mg
millmolar	mM
milliequivalents	meq
minute	min
molar (mol 1-1 )	M
mole ( a gram molecule)	mol
molecular weight	mol. wt
nano (10-9 x )	n; e.g. nm
newton	N
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and reduced form	NAD, NADH
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and reduced form	NADP, NADPH
number	No. (in tables only)
nano (10-9 x )	n; e.g. nm
newton	N
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and reduced form	NAD, NADH
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate and reduced form	NADP, NADPH
number	No. (in tables only)
pascal (unit of pressure)	Pa; 100 kPa = 1 bar = 0.987 atmospheres
per	use minus index, e.g. mg 1-1 except when unit is a culture vessel or organism
pico (10-12 x )	p; e.g. pg
precipitate	ppt (in tables only)
probability (statistical)	P; use P = 0.05, etc.
radiant	use W m-2 (energy flux density) or photon flux density- ?mol m-2 s-1 or ?E m-2 s-1
relative humidity	RH
retardation factor	RF
ribonucleic acid	RNA, messenger RNA = mRNA etc.
second	s
sodium dodecylsulphate	SDS
species	sp.; plural spp.
standard deviation of sample	SD
standard error of mean	SE
temperature	temp. (in tables only)
thin-layer chromatography	TLC
ultraviolet light	u.v.
volume(s)	vol. (in tables only)
volume/volume(concentration)	v/v
water potential	Ψ
watt (IJ s-1 )	Ww
weight	wt (in tables only)
weight/ volume (concentration)	w/v

Subdivision of the article. Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2,), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text.' Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.

Introduction. State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Materials and methods. Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.

Results.

Discussion. This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

Acknowledgements. Place acknowledgements, including information on grants received, before the references, in a separate section, and not as a footnote on the title page.

References. See separate section, below.

Figure legends, tables, figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article. They are described in more detail below. High-resolution graphics files must always be provided separate from the main text file (see Preparation of illustrations).

Footnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes themselves on a separate sheet at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Tables. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.

Nomenclature and units. Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.

The complete Latin name (genus, species, authority, together with cultivar, strain or culture number where appropriate) should be cited for every organism at first mention. Thereafter the generic name may be abbreviated to the initial except where this could cause confusion. No further abbreviation is permitted.

DNA sequences and GenBank Accession numbers. Many Elsevier journals cite "gene accession numbers" in their running text and footnotes. Gene accession numbers refer to genes or DNA sequences about which further information can be found in the databases at the National Center for Biotechnical Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine. Elsevier authors wishing to enable other scientists to use the accession numbers cited in their papers via links to these sources, should type this information in the following manner:

For each and every accession number cited in an article, authors should type the accession number in bold, underlined text. Letters in the accession number should always be capitalised. (See Example below). This combination of letters and format will enable Elsevier's typesetters to recognise the relevant texts as accession numbers and add the required link to GenBank's sequences.

Example: "GenBank accession nos. AI631510 , AI631511 , AI632198 , and BF223228 ), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048 ), and a T-cell lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117 )".

Authors are encouraged to check accession numbers used very carefully. An error in a letter or number can result in a dead link. In the final version of the printed article, the accession number text will not appear bold or underlined. In the final version of the electronic copy, the accession number text will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases enabling readers to go directly to that source from the article.

Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier accepts supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

References
Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.

Citations in the text: Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication and a copy of the title page of the relevant article must be submitted.

Citing and listing of web references. As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.

List: Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

[1] Van der Geer J, Hanraads JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun 2000;163:51-9.

Reference to a book:

[2] Strunk Jr W, White EB. The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan; 1979.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

[3] Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction to the electronic age, New York: E-Publishing Inc; 1999, p. 281-304

Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and that for more than 6 authors the first 6 should be listed followed by 'et al.' For further details you are referred to "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" (J Am Med Assoc 1997;277:927-934) (see also http://www.nejm.org/general/text/requirements/1.htm )



Preparation of electronic illustrations
Submitting your artwork in an electronic format helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.

General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font. • Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.• Provide all illustrations as separate files.• Provide captions to illustrations separately. • Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below.):

EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Colour or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".

Please do not:• Supply embedded graphics in your word processor (spreadsheet, presentation) document;• Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;• Supply files that are too low in resolution;• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate sheet, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Colour illustrations
Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in publication, or as 35 mm slides. Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. Polaroid colour prints are not suitable. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.

Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations.

Proofs
When Elsevier receives your manuscript it is considered to be in its final form.

Elsevier will send by e-mail page proofs in PDF format to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

A form with queries from the copyeditor may accompany your proofs. Please answer all queries and make any corrections or additions required.

Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurately as possible. In order to do this we need your help. When you receive the (PDF) proof of your article for correction, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Subsequent corrections will not be possible, so please ensure your first sending is complete. Note that this does not mean you have any less time to make your corrections, just that only one set of corrections will be accepted.

Elsevier reserves the right to proceed with publication if corrections are not communicated. Return corrections within 2 days of receipt of the proofs. Should there be no corrections, please confirm this.

Offprints
Twenty-five offprints will be provided free of charge. Additional reprints may be purchased at the proof stage.

Last updated: 18 April 2005