Instructions to authors
Scope and policy of Mutagenesis
Mutagenesis is an international multi-disciplinary journal designed to bring together research aimed at the identification, characterization and elucidation of the mechanisms of action of physical, chemical and biological agents capable of producing genetic change in living organisms and the study of the consequences of such changes.A variety of different types of manuscripts are published in Mutagenesis:
Original articles, reporting the results of fundamental and molecular studies upon the mechanisms of induction of point, chromosomal and genomic mutations and their roles in inherited and somatic disorders.
Papers on guidelines for mutagenicity testing of environmental agents, which describe and discuss the techniques and quality control standards necessary for adequate testing of environmental agents.
The results and conclusions of mutagenicity testing programmes. Authors wishing to publish the results of extensive testing programmes are invited to submit their complete laboratory data for inclusion in the Database Section of Mutagenesis. The conclusions of such studies are published in summary form in the Journal and copies of laboratory data for specific agents may be obtained directly from the Publisher, quoting Journal reference, test system and test agent. Authors wishing to publish their data in this section should consult the paper by Brooks,T.M., Meyer,A.L. and Hutson,D.H. (1988) The genetic toxicology of some hydrocarbon and oxygenated solvents. Mutagenesis, 3, 227-232, for an example of the appropriate format.
Cell lines, strains, DNA probes etc. The submission to and acceptance of a manuscript for publication in
Animal husbandry. Papers that report experiments involving live animals must include a statement that the animals were treated and housed in accordance with approved guidelines (giving the source) or supervised by an animal care committee (giving the name) or both.
Letters to the Editors may be submitted on current topics. Such letters may cover theoretical, social and practical aspects of mutational change, but should aim for a concise presentation.
Reviews. The Editors welcome the submission of reviews of topics covering all aspects of mutagenic change.
Book reviews are published of books covering both general and specific topics of relevance to workers in the field of Mutagenicity Research.
All manuscripts submitted to Mutagenesis are refereed for their pertinence, content and relevance to the scope of the journal.
Submission of manuscripts
The manuscript (the original and three copies), together with a signed conflict of interest form http://www.oxfordjournals.org/mutage/instauth/mutacon.pdf from each author, should be submitted directly to the appropriate Executive Editor.For the American Continent: Dr J L Schwartz, Department of Radiation Oncology, Box 356069, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
For Japan: Dr M. Hayashi, Division of Genetics and Mutagenesis, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1 Kamiyoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan.
For Europe and the Rest of the World: Prof. J.M.Parry, Mutagenesis Editorial Office, School of Biological Sciences, University of Wales, Swansea, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
Submission of a paper implies that it reports unpublished work and that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. If previously published tables, illustrations or more than 200 words of text are to be included, then the copyright holder's written permission must be obtained. Copies of any such permission letters should be enclosed with the paper.
The final revised version of the manuscript should be returned to the editor on floppy disk. Whilst the publishers can accept most computer and word processor disks, the preferred combinations are either PC MS-DOS, PC WINDOWS or APPLEMAC, and either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. It is important to note that the disk MUST be accompanied by two hard copy printouts of the revised manuscript and a completed disk submittal form. (Please note that disk submission is not necessary prior to revision.)
Proofs
Authors are sent page proofs. To avoid delays in publication, proofs should be checked immediately for typographical errors and returned to the publishers by express (special delivery) post. Alternatively, to save time, corrections may be given to Oxford University Press by telephone (01865 556767) or fax (01865 267773). Essential changes of an extensive nature may be made only by insertion of a Note added in proof. A charge is made to authors who insist on amendment within the text at the page-proof stage.Copyright
It is a condition of publication in the Journal that authors assign copyright to UK Environmental Mutagen Society/Oxford University Press. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In assigning copyright, Authors may use their own material in other publications provided that the Journal is ackowledged as the original place of publication, and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance.Preparation of manuscripts
Manuscripts should be in their final form when they are submitted so that proofs require only correction of typographical errors.Sections of the manuscript
Regular full-length papers should be subdivided into the following sequence of sections: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Legends to figures, Tables. The Title page must include the telephone and fax numbers and E-mail address of the corresponding author. In the Journal, the Materials and methods, Acknowledgements and References sections are printed in smaller type to accommodate more text. The Materials and methods section must give precise details of strains, concentrations and solvents. Where an activation system has been included it is necessary to know (i) the source, (ii) the inducer and (iii) the concentration treatment time, and incubation time with conditions should be given. Positive and negative controls together with their concentrations must be included. The number of replicates and the number of repeat experiments should be stated. Additional factors for in vivo tests should include age, weight, sex and total number of animals used in each experiment. A detailed dose regime is required. Papers for the Mutagenicity testing section should conform to the above requirements. In addition, results should be presented in tabular form.
General format
Manuscripts should be legibly typed on A4 or American quarto paper. All sections of the manuscript must be double-spaced (space between the lines of type not less than 6 mm). Margins of 25 mm (1 inch) should be left at the sides, top and bottom of each page. Number each page top right (Title page is 1). Please avoid footnotes; use instead, and as sparingly as possible, parenthesis within brackets. Underline only words or letters to appear in italics. Clearly identify unusual or handwritten symbols and Greek letters. Differentiate between the letter O and zero, and the letters I and l and number 1. Mark the position of each figure and table in the margin.
Abstract
The second page of every manuscript must contain only the Abstract, which should be a single paragraph not exceeding 300 words. Please abide strictly by this limitation of length. Published papers will only have the first 300 words of their abstracts incorporated into Medline, text in excess of this limit will be lost. The Abstract should be comprehensible to readers before they have read the paper, and abbreviations and reference citations should be avoided.
Acknowledgements
These should be included at the end of the text and not in footnotes. Personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies.
References
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Published articles and those in press (state the journal which has accepted them) may be included. In the text a reference should be cited by author and date; not more than two authors may be cited per reference; if there are more than two authors use et al. At the end of the manuscript the citations should be typed in alphabetical order with the authors surnames and initials inverted. References should include, in the following order: authors' names, year, paper title in full, journal title, name and address of publisher (books only), volume number and inclusive page numbers. The name of the journal should be abbreviated according to the World List of Scientific Periodicals and underlined to indicate italics.
References should therefore be listed as follows:
Hartley-Asp,B. and Hyldig-Nielsen,F. (1984) Comparative genotoxicity of nitrogen mustard and nor-nitrogen mustard. Carcinogenesis, 5, 1637-1640.
Kirk,J.T.O. and Tilney-Bassett,R.A.E. (1978) The Plastids. Their Chemistry, Structure, Growth and Inheritance, 2nd revised edn. Elsevier/North Holland, New York.
Warren,W. (1984) The analysis of alkylated DNA by high pressure liquid chromatography. In Venitt,S. and Parry,J.M. (eds), Mutagenicity Testing - a Practical Approach. IRL Press, Oxford, pp. 25-44.
Personal communication (J.Smith, personal communication) should be authorized by those involved, in writing, and unpublished data should be cited as (unpublished data). Both should be used as sparingly as possible and only when the unpublished data referred to is peripheral rather than central to the discussion. References to manuscripts in preparation or submitted, but not yet accepted, should be cited in the text as (B.Smith and N.Jones, in preparation) and should NOT be included in the list of references.
Tables
Tables should be typed on separate sheets, and numbered consecutively with Roman numerals. Tables should be self-explanatory and include a brief descriptive title. Footnotes to tables indicated by lower case letters are acceptable, but they should not include extensive experimental detail. An arrow in the text margin should be used to indicate where a table should be inserted in the text.
Illustrations
All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) should be referred to in the text as Figure 1 etc., which should be abbreviated to 'Fig. 1.' only in the figure legend. Write the title of your paper, the name of the first author and the figure number lightly in blue pencil on the back of each figure. On the back also indicate clearly the top margin of each figure. On the manuscript indicate with an arrow in the margin the most appropriate position for the figure.
Photographs. These must be submitted in the desired final size so that reduction can be avoided. The type area of a page is 248 x 185 mm (width) and photographs, including their legends, must not exceed this area. A single column is 88 mm wide. A double column is 185 mm wide. Ideally, photographs should fit either a single column or a double column. Photographs should be of sufficiently high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the inevitable loss of contrast and detail inherent in the printing process. Please indicate the magnification by a rule on the photographs.
Colour plates. Inclusion of colour plates is subject to a special charge. Details are available on request from:
Production Editor(Mutagenesis Journal)
Oxford University Press
Great Clarendon Street
Oxford OX2 6DP
Line drawings. Please provide these as clear, sharp prints, suitable for reproduction as submitted. No additional artwork, redrawing or typesetting is done. Therefore, all labelling should preferably be made with a lettering set. Ensure that the size of lettering is in proportion with the overall dimensions of the drawing. Ideally, line drawings should be submitted in the desired final size to avoid reduction (maximum dimensions 248 x 185 mm including legends) and should fit either a single (88 mm) or a double column width (185 mm). If submitting line drawings which require reduction, please check that the lettering will be clearly legible after the drawing has been reduced to the size at which it will be printed. After reduction, letters should not be smaller than 1.5 mm in height.
Figure legends. These should be on a separate, numbered manuscript sheet. Define all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure. Common abbreviations and others in the preceding text should not be redefined in the legend.
Conventions
In general, the journal follows the conventions of the CBE Style Manual (Council of Biology Editors, Bethesda, MD, 1983, 5th edn).
Follow Chemical Abstracts and its indexes for chemical names. For guidance in the use of biochemical terminology follow the recommendations issued by the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature, as given in Biochemical Nomenclature and Related Documents, published by the Biochemical Society, UK. For enzymes, use the recommended name assigned by the IUPAC-IUB Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature, 1978, as given in Enzyme Nomenclature, published by Academic Press, New York, 1980. Where possible, use the recommended SI (Systeme International) units.
Genotypes should be italicized (underline in typed copy); phenotypes should not be italicized. For bacterial genetics nomenclature follow Demerec et al. (1966) Genetics, 54, 61-76.
Abbreviations
Try to restrict the use of abbreviations to SI symbols and those recommended by the IUPAC. Abbreviations should be defined in brackets after their first mention in the text. Standard units of measurements and chemical symbols of elements may be used without definition in the body of the paper.