Acta Phytopathologica Sinica -Guide for Authors

1. Aims and Scope:

Acta Phytopathologica Sinica, established in 1955, is a bimonthly academic journal co-sponsored by the Chinese Phytopathology Society and China Agricultural University. It aims at advancing our understanding of plant pathology and publishes fundamental and applied researches on broad aspects of plant diseases, which include but are not limited to etiology, diagnosis, epidemiology and management of plant diseases, and molecular basis of plant-microbe interaction. 

2. Article Types:

2.1 Research Article

These articles report original research findings of significant academic value in plant pathology (within 7,000 words, with no more than 8 figures and/or tables in the main text). Non-essential figures and tables should be submitted as supplementary files; they are not typeset within the main text, do not occupy printed space, and are ultimately published as separate electronic attachments. Upon submission, authors must select the most appropriate subcategory from the following list:
(1) Etiology

(2) Cell biology, physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology

(3) Genetics of pathogenicity and disease resistance

(4) Epidemiology and ecology

(5) Plant diseases and control

(6) Plant immunity and genetic improvement of crop disease resistance

2.2 Review

Authors should synthesize their relevant research experience to review representative achievements within plant pathology, commenting on the current state of research, unresolved issues, and future development trends (within 7,000 words). The first author must hold an intermediate or higher professional title.

2.3 Methodology

Submissions should present novel and practical methodological advances in plant pathology. They may describe original techniques or substantial improvements to existing methods (within 5,000 words, typically containing no more than 6 figures and tables in total).

2.4 Research Note

Research Notes briefly report unpublished, original preliminary findings in plant pathology (within 2,500 words, no more than 3 figures and tables, and no more than 20 references). Reports of new diseases must involve a pathogen that is a new species, variant, or physiological race, or a newly recorded species or new host record not previously reported in the country.

3 Manuscript Structure and Formatting Requirements (Please download the "Template" for formatting)

The writing sequence for a research article is as follows: Chinese title; Chinese author names and affiliations; Chinese abstract and keywords; English title; English author names and affiliations; English abstract and keywords; Chinese Library Classification (CLC) number; document identification code; front page footnotes; main text (including introduction, materials and methods, results and analysis, conclusion and discussion); acknowledgments; references.

The writing sequence for a research note is largely the same as that of a research article, but it does not require a Chinese abstract and does not include separate headings such as "Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Analysis, Discussion." Instead, these sections are combined and described together.

3.1 Title and Headings

The article title should be concise and specific, generally not exceeding 20 words (a subtitle may be added if necessary). Avoid using non-standard or unrecognized abbreviations, symbols, codes, and minimize the use of structural formulas and mathematical expressions. Headings within the main text should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals, clearly reflecting a hierarchical structure, and should not exceed three levels.

3.2 Authors and Affiliations

Article authorship should be limited to those who have participated in the research, contributed to the work, and can assume responsibility for the content. Multiple authors should be listed with their names separated by commas. The corresponding author should be indicated by an asterisk (*) superscript following their name, while co-first authors should be indicated by a hash symbol (#) superscript.

All authors must list their affiliation (full official name in both Chinese and English), city, and postal code. Authors from foreign institutions must provide their full institutional address and country.

For authors from different affiliations, a superscript Arabic numeral should be placed after the author's name, and a corresponding numeral should be placed before the respective affiliation details.

3.3 Chinese and English Abstracts and Keywords

The abstract should be unstructured, concise, and approximately 300 words in length. It should be independent and self-explanatory, providing essential information equivalent to that of the paper, including the four key elements: research objective, key methods, results, and conclusions. Keywords are words or terms reflecting the thematic content of the article and should consist of commonly used professional vocabulary domestically and internationally, typically 3–5 in number, listed below the Chinese and English abstracts, with consistency between the two languages.

3.4 Chinese Library Classification (CLC) Number

The classification should be based on the China Library Classification (5th edition).

3.5 Document Identification Code

The code for papers on theoretical and applied research (including topical reviews) is "A", while the code for reports on practical technological achievements is "B".

3.6 Front Page Footnotes

3.6.1 Funding Project: Articles resulting from funded research should indicate the fund name, followed by its project number in parentheses. If multiple funds are involved, list them sequentially, separated by semicolons.

3.6.2 Corresponding Author: List in the following sequence: Name, Title, Main research interests; E-mail address. During manuscript processing, the editorial office will communicate only with the corresponding author.

3.6.3 First Author: List in the following sequence: Name, Highest obtained degree (students should use "Ph.D. Candidate/Master's Candidate"), Title, Research interests; E-mail address.

3.7 Figures and Tables

Only essential figures and tables should be included in the main text. The same set of data should be presented in either a figure or a table, not both. The content must be self-explanatory (understandable without referring to the main text). All text within figures, tables, and photographs should be in English and kept as concise as possible.

Image resolution should be 300 dpi or higher. Regardless of the original file format, all text within images must be clear and legible, with a minimum font size of 6 pt. For images containing a substantial amount of text, the use of vector formats is recommended. Figure titles should be in 10.5-point Times New Roman bold. Figure legends (captions) and text within figures should generally be in 9-point Times New Roman. For multi-panel figures (composite figures containing subfigures), label each subfigure with an uppercase English letter (e.g., A, B, C) positioned in the top-left corner.

Tables should be presented in the three-line table format. Table titles should be in 10.5-point Times New Roman bold. The content within tables and any table notes should be in 9-point Times New Roman. Do not use vertical or diagonal lines within tables. Numerical data of the same type should be aligned vertically by the decimal point and maintain consistent number of decimal places.

3.8 Units

(1) In the main text and in figures/tables, one space should be left between the unit and the preceding numerical value (except for the percentage symbol), e.g., 10 cm, 10%.

(2) Centrifugal force should be expressed as "× g," not as "rpm" or "r·min^-1."

(3) Shaker speed should be expressed as "r·min^-1."

(4) Concentrations should be expressed as "mmol·L^-1, μmol·L^-1, ng·μL^-1, U·μL^-1," etc., and not as "mM, μM, μmol/L, ng/μL."

(5) In "mL," the "L" should be capitalized.

(6) Spore concentration should be expressed as "spores·mL^-1."

(7) Bacterial concentration should be expressed as "CFU·mL^-1."

(8) Microbial quantification per unit volume should be expressed as "CFU·cm^-2," "CFU·mg^-1"

(9) Time units: "day, hour, minute, second" should be expressed as "d, h, min, s."

(10) Planting area should be converted to "hectare (hm²)," and not expressed as "mu"

(11) Dimensions should be expressed as "16 mm×18 mm" or "(16×18) mm," 22 ℃±2 ℃ or (22±2) ℃, etc.

(12) For ranges of years or months, use an en dash, e.g., January–May 2019, 2014–2021. For other numerical ranges, use a tilde "~" (in Chinese) or an en dash "–" (in English), e.g., 32.75%~65.23%; 10–20 cm.

3.9 Latin Scientific Names

Latin genus and species names should be italicized. The full name must be used the first time it appears in the Chinese and English abstracts, main text, figures, and tables. In subsequent occurrences, the genus name may be abbreviated.

3.10 Abbreviations

Internationally conventional abbreviations should be used. The full term must be provided the first time an abbreviation appears in the text.

3.11 References

3.11.1 In-text citations: The numeric citation method shall be adopted. When citing multiple sources simultaneously, list all the corresponding numbers within the square brackets, separated by commas. For consecutive numbers, use an en-dash to connect the first and last number.

3.11.2 Reference list format：For references with more than three authors, list only the first three, followed by ", et al." in italics. Journal titles must be provided in full. All references should be presented in English. For non-English sources, the original language must be indicated in parentheses. Examples:

Journal Article

[1] KIM H S, DESVEAUX D, SINGER A U, et al. The Pseudomonas syringae effector AvrRpt2 cleaves its C- terminally acylated target, RIN4, from Arahidopsis membranes to block RPM1 activation [J]. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2005, 102(18):6496-6501. 

[2] ZHANG Q, LIU Z, GAO C, et al. Identification and functional analysis of cupin domain-containing protein Vmcupin1 in Valsa mali (in Chinese) [J]. Acta Phytopathologica Sinica, 2023, 53(4):580-588.

[3] CHO Y, SRIVASTAVA A, OHM RA, et al. Transcription factor Amr1 induces melanin biosynthesis and suppresses virulence in Alternaria brassicicola [J]. PLoS Pathogens, 2012, 8(10):e1002974.

[4] van der DOES H C, REP M. Adaptation to the host environment by plant-pathogenic fungi [J]. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 2017,55:427-450.

Monograph/Book

[5] FANG Z D. Research method for plant pathology (2nd ed.) (in Chinese) [M]. Beijing: China Agriculture Press, 1998.

Proceedings

[6] PENG Y L. Proceedings of the annual meeting of Chinese society for plant pathology (in Chinese) [C]. Beijing: China Agricultural Science and Technology Press, 2006. 

Dissertation

[7] WEN W G. Study on wlicitors of hypersensitive response from Xanthomonas oryzae (in Chinese) [D]. Nanjing: Nanjing Agricultural University, 2001.

Analyzed Document

[8] SUBRAMONI S, JHA G, SONTI R. Virulence functions of xanthomonads [A]. Gnanamanickam S S, editor. Plant-associated bacteria [M]. Dordrecht: Springer, 2006:535-571.

[9] WHITE T J, BRUNS T, LEE S, et al. Amplification and direct sequencing of fungal ribosomal RNA genes for phylogenetics [A]. INNIS A M, GELFAND D H, SNINSKY J J, et al, editors. PCR Protocols: a guide to methods and applications [M]. San Diego: Academic Press, 1990:315-322.

[10] ALEXANDER S A, HORNER W E, LEWIS K J. Leptographium procerum as a pathogen of pines [A]. HARRINGTON T C, COBB F W, editors. Leptographium root diseases on conifers [M]. St. Paul, Minnesota: The American Phytopathological Society Press. 1988:97-112.

3.12 Formatting Template 

Authors are suggested to download the "Template" and apply the specified formatting to their submission. This facilitates rapid online publication upon acceptance.

4 Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted together with the supporting letter (stamped by the corresponding author's institution) and the copyright transfer agreement via the online submission system. Please provide detailed contact information for the corresponding author (address, postal code, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address) to facilitate efficient communication with the editorial office and the delivery of published issues. During the manuscript review process, the editorial office will communicate only with the corresponding author. Authors may suggest potential reviewers and also list any peer experts they wish to exclude, for the editorial office's reference during the review process.

The online submission and review system for Acta Phytopathologica Sinica can be accessed at: http://zwblxb.magtech.com.cn/JournalX_aps/authorLogOn.action。

5 Manuscript Handling Process

Upon receipt of the manuscript, the cover letter, and the copyright transfer agreement, the editorial office will register and assign a number to the manuscript. The subsequent process is as follows:

5.1 Acknowledgment of Receipt: An acknowledgment receipt is sent to the author via email.

5.2 Initial Screening: Conducted by the editorial office in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members. Decisions for rejection or request for revisions at this stage are usually completed within one week.

5.3 Secondary Screening: Manuscripts passing the initial screening are forwarded to an Associate Editor for secondary screening.

5.4 First Review (External Peer Review): Manuscripts passing the secondary screening are sent for external peer review. Feedback is generally provided within one month.

5.5 Revision or Rejection: Authors are typically given 30 days to submit revisions. If the revision is not received within this period, the manuscript may be treated as a new submission. If an extension is needed, authors must inform the editorial office promptly. During this period, the manuscript must not be submitted to other journals.

5.6 Re-review: Conducted by the external reviewer(s) and/or the editorial office plus the Associate Editor. This may involve one or multiple rounds.

5.7 Final Decision (Editor-in-Chief): The final acceptance decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief.

5.8 Acceptance: An official acceptance notice is sent to the author via email.

5.9 Editing & Author Proofing: The manuscript undergoes professional editing, and the proof is sent to the author for verification.

5.10 Online First Publication: The accepted version is published online prior to its inclusion in a scheduled issue.

5.11 Typesetting & Proofreading: The manuscript is typeset, and proofreading is performed by the managing editor.

5.12 Finalization (Author + Managing Editor): The final version is confirmed by both the author and the managing editor.

5.13 Formal Publication: The article is formally published in a print/online issue according to its acceptance date.

Important Notes:

(1)   Once an article is published Online First, the title, author list, affiliation names, DOI, and academic content cannot be modified. Any changes could cause a mismatch between the Online First version and the final printed version.

(2)   The editorial office reserves the right to make appropriate textual edits to accepted manuscripts. Authors who disagree with such edits should state this in advance.

6 Fees

Authors who publish papers in Acta Phytopathologica Sinica are required to pay an article processing charge (APC). The standard page charge is 350 RMB per black-and-white page, and 800 RMB per color page. After publication, two complimentary copies of the issue will be sent to the authors, typically via express delivery to the corresponding author.

7 Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

7.1 Prohibited Uses

(1) Text generation: Directly using AI to generate the core content of a manuscript (such as key sections including the introduction, methods, results, and discussion) is prohibited.

(2) Data fabrication and manipulation: Using AI to fabricate or manipulate research data, charts, images, and case information is prohibited.

(3) Attribution and responsibility evasion: AI tools must not be listed as an author or co-author. Authors are solely responsible for all content of the manuscript.

7.2 Permitted Uses

(1) Data processing and analysis: AI may be used to assist in data analysis (e.g., processing large-scale datasets, image recognition, statistical modeling). However, the name of the AI tool and its specific purpose must be stated.

(2) Literature search and management: AI tools may be used for literature retrieval, classification, or preliminary screening. However, the final selection and citation of literature must be performed and reviewed independently by the author.

(3) Experimental design: AI may provide research ideas or suggestions for experimental design. However, the specific research protocol must be determined independently by the author based on professional expertise.

(4) Language polishing: AI may assist with grammar checking and non-academic language optimization. However, it must not alter the core academic meaning of the original text.

7.3 Author responsibility statement

(1) Authors must ensure the authenticity of the manuscript's content and are required to perform manual review and verification of any AI-assisted content.

(2) If AI tools are utilized, their names, specific purposes, and scope of application must be explicitly stated in the "Methods" section.

(3) This publication employs detection tools to screen submitted manuscripts for AI-generated content. Any identified violations will be treated as academic misconduct.