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Specialty chief editors

Scope

The Plant Pathogen Interactions section is dedicated to publishing research focused on the complex relationships between plants and various pathogens.

Led by Dr. Brigitte Mauch-Mani from the Université de Neuchâtel and Dr. Choong-Min Ryu from Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), the Plant Pathogen Interactions section welcomes submissions in the various domains of plant pathology, which enhance the understanding of the intricate mechanisms underlying these interactions.

Topics considered in the scope of this section include:

  • environmental influence on plant-pathogen interactions
  • exchange, diversion, and utilization of nutrients during plant-pathogen interactions
  • genetic and epigenetic dynamics, and transgenerational effects in plant pathogen interactions
  • mechanisms of plant pathogenesis
  • molecular communication between plants and microorganisms, as well as nematodes, insects, mites, and parasitic plants
  • molecular dynamics in multitrophic interactions involving plants
  • molecular evolution and ecology of plant pathogen interactions
  • plant developmental and immune responses to pathogens at the molecular and cellular level
  • suppression or evasion of plant defense responses by pathogens
  • technological approaches to control pathogens and pests and enhance plant productivity
  • the reciprocal relationship between the plant immune system and the microbiome, and its relevance for plant health

Submissions should provide detailed, in-depth knowledge about the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying plant pathogen interactions, as well as their ecological and evolutionary aspects.

In particular, the section welcomes submissions which support and advance the understanding of plant pathogen interactions, molecular communication, genetic and epigenetic dynamics, plant defense mechanisms, nutrient utilization, plant immune system, and technological approaches to control pathogens and pests, in alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2 (Zero Hunger), 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and 15 (Life on Land).

The Plant Pathogen Interactions section does not consider studies focused on phenotypic responses or effects already shown in other species without addressing molecular relevance to the specific plant-pathogen association. Studies providing negligible advancement of knowledge will not be considered for review. Works describing plant symbiotic interactions do not fall within the scope of this Section and should be submitted to Plant Symbiotic Interactions section.

Please consider the requirements for experimental studies as listed below:

Quantitative analysis need to be performed on a minimum number of 3 biological replicates in order to enable an assessment of significance. This includes quantitative omics studies (transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics) as well as phenotypic measurements, quantitative assays, and qPCR expression analysis. Studies that do not comply with these replication requirements will not be considered for review.

Studies falling into the categories below will not be considered for review, unless they are expanded and provide functional or mechanistic insights into the biological system or process being studied:

i) Descriptive collection of transcripts, proteins or metabolites, including comparative sets as a result of different conditions or treatments;

ii) Descriptive studies that define gene families using basic phylogenetics and the assignment of cursory functional attributions (e.g. expression profiles, hormone or metabolites levels, promoter analysis, informatic parameters).

Studies using transgenic or mutant lines (plants and algae) should be based on data from multiple independent alleles (at least 2) displaying a common and stable phenotype. Examples include, T-DNA, transposon, RNAi, CRISPR/Cas9, chemically induced, overexpressors, reporter fusions (GUS, FPs, LUC) etc. Qualitative data can be presented from a single allele but should be indicative of observations from multiple alleles which should be explicitly stated in the text. Quantitative data should be derived from multiple alleles (at least 2) and should be displayed separately for each allele (with at least 3 independent replications for each allele). Studies reporting single alleles may be considered acceptable when:

i) Complementation via transformation is used for confirmation;

ii) The allele has been previously characterized and published and is representative of multiple independent lines;

iii) Systems where genetic transformation is difficult or not yet possible, alternative evidence should be presented supporting the reported allele.

This multidisciplinary section is at the forefront of disseminating and communicating cutting-edge scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries in the field of plant pathology to researchers, industry, policymakers, and the public worldwide.

Frontiers in Plant Science is member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Facts

  • Short name

    Front. Plant Sci.

  • Abbreviation

    fpls

  • Electronic ISSN

    1664-462X

  • Indexed in

    PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC), Scopus, Web of Science Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Google Scholar, DOAJ, CrossRef, AGRICOLA

  • PMCID

    All published articles receive a PMCID

  • Impact

    4.1 Impact Factor

    7.3 CiteScore

Submission

Plant Pathogen Interactions welcomes submissions of the following article types: Brief Research Report, Correction, Editorial, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Review, Systematic Review.

All manuscripts must be submitted directly to the section Plant Pathogen Interactions, where they are peer-reviewed by the Associate and Review Editors of the specialty section.

Open access statement

Open access logo

Frontiers' philosophy is that all research is for the benefit of humankind. Research is the product of an investment by society and therefore its fruits should be returned to all people without borders or discrimination, serving society universally and in a transparent fashion.

That is why Frontiers provides online free and open access to all of its research publications. For more information on open access click here.

Open access funder and institutional mandates

Frontiers is fully compliant with open access mandates, by publishing its articles under the Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC-BY). Funder mandates such as those by the Wellcome Trust (UK), National Institutes of Health (USA) and the Australian Research Council (Australia) are fully compatible with publishing in Frontiers. Authors retain copyright of their work and can deposit their publication in any repository. The work can be freely shared and adapted provided that appropriate credit is given and any changes specified.

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Each Frontiers article strives for the highest quality, thanks to genuinely collaborative interactions between authors, editors and reviewers, who include many of the world's best scientists and scholars. Frontiers is well aware of the potential impact of published research both on future research and on society and, hence, does not support superficial review, light review or no-review publishing models.

Frontiers uses the single anonymized peer review model, where the reviewer identity is not made visible to the author, while the author identity is visible to the reviewer, and reviewer and the authors’ identities are visible to the decision-making editor. Reviewers interact with the handling editor and the authors. Editor and reviewer names and affiliations are published on all Frontiers articles.

Research must be certified by peers before entering a stream of knowledge that may eventually reach the public - and shape society. Therefore, Frontiers only applies the most rigorous and unbiased reviews, established in the high standards of the Frontiers Review System. Furthermore, only the top certified research, evaluated objectively through quantitative online article level metrics, is disseminated to increasingly wider communities as it gradually climbs the tiers of the Frontiers Tiering System from specialized expert readership towards public understanding.

Frontiers has a number of procedures in place to support and ensure the quality of the research articles that are published:

  • 2023

    • Editorial Board Quality

      • Only leading experts and established members of the research community are appointed to the Frontiers Editorial Boards. Chief Editors, Associate Editors and Review Editors are all listed with their names and affiliations on the Journal pages and are encouraged to publicly list their publication credentials.

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      • Submitting authors can choose a preferred Associate Editor to handle their manuscript, because they can judge well who would be an appropriate expert in editing their manuscript. There is no guarantee for this preference of choice, Associate Editors can decline invitations any time, and the handling Associate Editor can also be over-ridden by the Chief Editor before she/he is invited to edit the article or at any other stage.

      • Associate Editors are mandated to only accept to edit a manuscript if they have no conflicts of interest (as stated here and in their review invitation and assignment emails).

      • Should it become clear that the Associate Editor has a conflict of interest or is unable to perform the peer-review timely and adequately, a new Associate Editor can be assigned to the manuscript by the Chief Editor, who has full control to intervene in the peer-review process at any time.

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      • After a certain time frame and if no reviewers have in the meantime been assigned to the manuscript, the Frontiers platform and algorithmic safety-net steps in and invites the most appropriate Review Editors based on constantly updated and improved algorithms that match reviewer expertise with the submitted manuscript.

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      • Frontiers algorithms are constantly fine-tuned to better match Review Editors with manuscripts, and additional checks are being coded into the platform, for example regarding conflicts of interest.

      • Should it become clear that a particular reviewer has a conflict of interest or is unable to perform the peer-review timely and adequately, he or she shall be replaced with an alternative reviewer by the Associate Editor or the Chief Editor, who will be alerted and has full control to intervene into the peer-review at any time.

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    • Interactive Review Stage Quality

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      • Manuscript and review quality at this stage are enhanced by allowing authors and reviewers to discuss directly with each other in real-time until they reach consensus and a final version of the manuscript is endorsed by the reviewers.

      • Reviewer identity is protected at this stage to safeguard complete freedom of opinion.

      • Reviewers can recommend rejection at this stage if their requests to correct objective errors are not being met by the authors or if they deem the article overall of insufficient quality.

      • Should a dispute arise, authors or reviewers can trigger an arbitration and will alert the Associate Editor, who can assign more reviewers and/or bring the dispute to the attention of the Chief Editor. The Associate Editor can also weigh in on the discussion and is asked to mediate the process to ensure a constructive revision stage.

    • Decision Stage Quality

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    • Post-Publication Stage Quality

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      • Frontiers has a community retraction protocol in place to retract papers where serious concerns have been raised and validated by the community that warrant retraction, including ethical concerns, honest errors or scientific misconduct.