Preparing Manuscripts for Submission

Submit your manuscript at https://g3.msubmit.net. Submission of a manuscript to G3 implies that the corresponding author has obtained the permission of all authors, and that all authors have read the manuscript and guarantee that the manuscript represents original research, that the data and software are available to the Editors if requested, and that the manuscript (and its substance) has not been previously published and is not currently being considered for publication by another journal. The Corresponding Author is responsible for ensuring that all figures, tables, text, and supporting materials are properly cited and, when necessary, obtaining permission for reprinting copyrighted material.

Initial Submission in Any Format

G3 accepts manuscripts in any format, including figures, tables, and references (e.g. it may be formatted according to another journal’s guidelines or a format of your preference). For the review process, please include line numbers and page numbers if possible. You may also upload your manuscript as a PDF file. If your manuscript is accepted for publication, we'll ask you then to format the files for publication according to the guidelines below and provide the non-pdf files.

LaTeX Template/Overleaf

Editorial Style

G3 editorial style conforms to the The Chicago Manual of Style (The University of Chicago Press) and Harbrace College Handbook (Harcourt) as interpreted and modified by the editors and Dartmouth Journal Services. The copyeditors rely on a variety of supplementary resources due to the diverse content of the journal:

• The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of English Usage
• Mathematics into Type (American Mathematical Society)
• Words into Type (Prentice Hall)
• A Dictionary of Genetics (Oxford University Press)
• Encyclopedia of Genetics (Academic Press)
• Scientific Style and Format (Council of Science Editors)

The editors reserve the privilege of editing manuscripts to conform with the stylistic conventions established in recent volumes of G3, in these Instructions, and in the above-mentioned reference materials, as well as current terminology and accepted usage and practice.

Manuscript Text

Manuscripts must be:

• written in English with American spelling and correct grammar and punctuation,
• in 12-point type, double-spaced throughout, including the Literature Cited section and appendices,
• marked with consecutive page numbers, beginning with the cover page
• contain sections in the order shown below (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion).

The first page should contain:

• a concise, informative title that avoids jargon and includes the name of the organism under study,
• the authors' names,
• the authors' institutional affiliations, including department; institution; and city, state or province, country if outside the United States, and postal code (do not include districts or street addresses),
• reference numbers for data available in public repositories and IRB numbers.

For the authors' names, indicate different affiliations with the superscript symbols: *, †, ‡, §. (These symbols can be inserted using Microsoft Word.) After four authors, the symbols double, triple, quadruple, etc., but in the same order ( **, ††, ‡‡, §§)

Use a numbered footnote to indicate an author's present address. Indicate a dedicatory footnote (if desired) with boldfaced type.

The second page contains:

• a short running title of about 35 characters, including spaces,
• up to five key words or phrases,
• the corresponding author's name, office mailing address including street name and number, phone number, and email address.

Abstract

The abstract should be written for people who may not read the entire paper, so it must stand on its own. The impression it makes usually determines whether the reader will go on to read the article, so the abstract must be engaging, clear, and concise. In addition, the abstract may be the only part of the article that is indexed in databases, so it must accurately reflect the content of the article. A well-written abstract is THE most effective way to reach intended readers, leading to more robust search, retrieval, and usage of the article. Your abstract should:

• provide a synopsis of the entire article;
• begin with the broad context of the study, followed by specific background for the study;
• describe the purpose, methods and procedures, core findings and results, and conclusions of the study;
• emphasize new or important aspects of the research;
• engage the broad readership of G3 and be understandable to a diverse audience (avoid using jargon);
• be a single paragraph of less than 250 words;
• contain the full name of the organism studied;
• NOT contain citations or abbreviations.

Introduction

For the introduction, authors should be mindful of the broad readership of the journal. The introduction should set the stage for the importance of the work to a generalist reader and draw the reader in to the specific study. The scope and impact of the work should be clearly stated.

In individual organisms where a mutant is being studied, the rationale for the study of that mutant must be clear to a geneticist not studying that particular organism. Similarly, study of particular phenotypes should be justified broadly and not on the basis of interest for that organism alone. General background on the importance of the genetic pathway and/or phenotype should be provided in a single, well-reasoned paragraph near the beginning of the introduction.

Authors are encouraged to:

• cite the supporting literature completely rather than select a subset of citations;
• provide important background citations, including relevant review papers (to help orient the non-specialist reader);
• to cite similar work in other organisms.

Materials and Methods

Manuscripts submitted to G3 should contain a clear description of the experimental design in sufficient detail so that the experimental analysis could be repeated by another scientist. If the level of detail necessary to explain the protocol goes beyond two paragraphs, give a short description in the main body of the paper and prepare a detailed description for supplemental material. G3 suggests authors supplement their methods with detailed protocols on the open access repository protocols.io.

For example: indicate how many individuals were used, and if applicable how individuals or groups were combined for analysis. If working with mutants indicate how many independent mutants were isolated. If working with populations indicate how samples were collected and whether they were random with respect to the target population.

Statistical Analysis

Indicate what statistical analysis has been performed; not just the name of the software and options selected, but the method and model applied. In the case of many genes being examined simultaneously, or many phenotypes, a multiple comparison correction should be used to control the type I error rate, or a rationale for not applying a correction must be provided. The type of correction applied should be clearly stated. It should also be clear whether the p-values reported are raw, or after correction. Corrected p-values are often appropriate, but raw p-values should be available in the supporting materials so that others may perform their own corrections. In large scale data exploration studies (e.g. genome wide expression studies) a clear and complete description of the replication structure must be provided.

Data Availability

At the end of the Materials and Methods section, include a statement on reagent and data availability. Please read the Data and Reagent Policy before writing the statement. Make sure to list the accession numbers or DOIs of any data you have placed in public repositories. List the file names and descriptions of any data you will upload as supplemental material. The statement should also include any applicable IRB numbers. You may include specifications for how to properly acknowledge or cite the data.

Please note: For the review process, you must agree to make data confidentially available to editors and reviewers. If accession numbers/DOIs are not available yet, please indicate in your Data Availability Statement where the data will be submitted. Accession numbers/DOIs must be available prior to publication.

For example: Strains are available upon request. File S1 contains detailed descriptions of all supplemental files. File S2 contains SNP ID numbers and locations. File S3 contains genotypes for each individual. Sequence data are available at GenBank and the accession numbers are listed in File S3. Gene expression data are available at GEO with the accession number: GDS1234. Code used to generate the simulated data can be found at https://zenodo.org/record/123456.

Example 2: Strains and plasmids are available upon request. The authors affirm that all data necessary for confirming the conclusions of the article are present within the article, figures, and tables.

If your manuscript contains complex trait data, please prepare a Data Availability Statement that clearly describes the locations of your genotype data, phenotype data, marker information (e.g. linkage map or list of SNP locations), and population structure information. We recommend using the Data Availability Statement from Stanley et al., 2017 as a reference.

Results and Discussion

The results and discussion should not be repetitive. The results section should give a factual presentation of the data and all tables and figures should be referenced; the discussion should not summarize the results but provide an interpretation of the results, and should clearly delineate between the findings of the particular study and the possible impact of those findings in a larger context. Authors are encouraged to cite recent work relevant to their interpretations. Present and discuss results only once, not in both the Results and Discussion sections. It is sometimes acceptable to combine results and discussion. The text should be as succinct as possible.

The text should conform to the style in recent issues of G3. Please follow these guidelines:

In-text citations: Include both names for citations with two authors. Citations with three or more authors name the first author with et al. for the other authors. Cite only articles that are published or in press. To cite personal communications or unpublished results, list all contributors by initials and last name; do not use et al..

Numbers: In the text, write out numbers nine or less except as part of a date, a fraction or decimal, a percentage, or a unit of measurement. Use Arabic numbers for those larger than nine, except as the first word of a sentence; however, try to avoid starting a sentence with such a number.

Units: Use abbreviations of the customary units of measurement only when they are preceded by a number: "3 min" but "several minutes". Write "percent" as one word, except when used with a number: "several percent" but "75%." To indicate temperature in centigrade, use ° (for example, 37°); include a letter after the degree symbol only when some other scale is intended (for example, 45°K).

Nomenclature and Italicization: Italicize names of organisms even when when the species is not indicated. Italicize the first three letters of the names of restriction enzyme cleavage sites, as in HindIII. Write the names of strains in roman except when incorporating specific genotypic designations. Italicize genotype names and symbols, including all components of alleles, but not when the name of a gene is the same as the name of an enzyme. Do not use "+" to indicate wild type. Carefully distinguish between genotype (italicized) and phenotype (not italicized) in both the writing and the symbolism.

To divide the text into sections, only these four levels are allowed:

• Level 1: Centered, all capital letters. Use this level for major sections of text, such as Materials and Methods and the Discussion.
• Level 2: Freestanding flush-left boldface. Use this level only to group two or more closely related Level 3 headings in long article.
• Level 3: Paragraph-initiating boldface, followed by a colon.
• Level 4: Paragraph-initiating italic. Level 4 headings may be numbered, but only when the numbers must be cited in the text.

Genetic Nomenclature

Authors are expected to use standard genetic nomenclature (consult the organism databases whenever possible). Reference to genetic resources (e.g., genes, loci, alleles) in organisms that do not have a public database that resolves synonymy of such items must be accompanied by a thorough scholarly accounting of all other names in the literature.

G3 offers In-Article Database Linking to enrich your scientific publications and ensure that data relevant to your research can be discovered and accessed by readers. Please indicate in the submission form if your manuscript contains linkable entities.

• Flybase  
• FungiDB
• Saccharomyces Genome Database  
• Wormbase 

For FungiDB linking, please use the hyperlink style in Word to mark any items that should be linked. Instructions here. The hyperlink style is under "All Styles" in your Styles window (View>Styles). Select the item you want G3 to hyperlink (for example Gene ID, AMAG_00042) and then click the "Hyperlink" style in the list.

G3 will insert a link to the gene for any item marked with the hyperlink style.  For example, if you have marked AMAG_00042 with the hyperlink sytle, we'll insert the URL http://fungidb.org/gene/AMAG_00042

More information on how to find a Gene ID is available at http://www.g3.org/sites/default/files/EntLink_15Mar2016.pdf

Figures

For the review process, figures can be embedded in the manuscript with the legends directly below the figure. Alternatively they can be submitted as separate files, with the legends at the end of the manuscript text. Upon acceptance of the manuscript, G3 will require the figures to be uploaded as separate files for preparation, and digital art guidelines are available here.

Note that images must not be manipulated in any way that misrepresents the original data. If editors suspect any images in your manuscript have been inappropriately manipulated, they may request the original image files for comparison. If original files are not available or reveal inappropriate manipulations, the editors may reject or withdraw acceptance of your manuscript. Please read the Image Manipulation Policy for more information and examples.

File Format

• TIFF (.tiff)
• JPEG (.jpg)
• Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt)
• EPS (.eps)
• Adobe Illustrator (.ai)
• Adobe Photoshop (.psd)

Formats not supported include: Bitmap (.bmp), PICT (.pict), Excel (.xls),  Canvas (.cnv), and Corel Draw (.cdr).

Resolution, Contrast, and Size

All files must conform to these resolution ranges:

• Halftone (color or black & white): 200-300 dpi
• Grayscale and color combination images: 300-500 dpi
• Line art images: 500-1000 dpi

RGB, CMYK, and Grayscale are all acceptable. Halftones should be high contrast with sharp detail, because some loss of detail and contrast is inevitable in the production process. Good contrast is particularly important for chromatographs. Each file must be no larger than 10 MB; figures should be 10-20 cm in width and 1-25 cm in height. Graph axes must be exactly perpendicular and all lines of equal density (.5 point minimum).

Labels

Label multiple figure parts with A, B, etc. in bolded type, and use Arrows and numbers to draw attention to areas you want to highlight. If the figure is submitted in unattached parts, include a scan of how these should be arranged. Please note that figure parts must be part of one singular image/caption (for example, we cannot have Figure 1A, 1B, 1C as seperate figures each with their own caption). Label all figures in numerical order with Arabic numerals, and cite figures in the text in their numerical order. When preparing the manuscript for publication, the copyeditors will insert or relocate a citation, or will renumber figures as needed. Within the label, be sure to distinguish between similar characters, such as the letter l and the number 1 or the letter O and the number 0. Labels and legends should be in a sans-serif 10-point font.

Legends

Figure legends should start with a brief title and should be a self-contained description of the content of the figure that provides enough detail to fully understand the data presented. All conventional symbols used to indicate figure data points are available for typesetting; unconventional symbols should not be used. Italicize all mathematical variables (both in the figure legend and figure) , genotypes, and additional symbols that are normally italicized. Note that Figures will be automatically converted into PowerPoint-ready slides available for download.

Video and Movie Files

G3 supports video and movie files that can be linked from any portion of the article - including the abstract. Acceptable formats include .asf, avi, .wav, and all types of Windows Media files.

Tables

For the review process, tables can be embedded in the manuscript or submitted as separate files. Avoid shading, color type, line drawings, graphics, or other illustrations within tables. Use tables for data only; present drawings, graphics, and illustrations as separate figures. Histograms should not be used to present data that can be captured easily in text or small tables, as they take up much more space.

Format

Tables should either be in LaTeX or Microsoft Word (.doc).

Layout

Title (required) - Should be concise and list the table number in Arabic numerals. Tables should not be numbered 1A, 1B, etc., but if necessary, interior parts of the table can be labeled A, B, etc. for easy reference in the text.

Footnotes - If used, these should be typed directly below the table, with lowercase, superscript italic letters (a, b, c, etc.). Use *, **, and *** to indicate conventional levels of statistical significance, explained below the table.

Tables should have clearly defined top lines and bottom lines that are .5 point in weight.

Labels and Legends

Labels for tables should be in all Caps and in a sans-serif 10-point font. Material within the table should also be in a sans-serif 10-point font and double-spaced. Any totals and sums should be in boldface type. A legend, if present, must precede any footnotes and should follow the font requirements for the labels and table text. Legends should be a self-contained description of the content and should provide enough detail to fully understand the data presented.

Math Characters

To accurately represent the math characters in your article, please use MathType 5.0 or later for equations that need math characters not found on your keyboard. If characters are set in text, this may result in errors and a delay in the processing of your accepted manuscript. Please contact the editorial office if you have any questions about submitting your files.

References

For initial submission and review, you may submit manuscripts with references formatted in the style of another journal. However, if your manuscript is accepted for publication, please format the references as they appear in a recent article of G3. Please use the following guidelines:

In-Text Citations

For citations with two authors, include both authors' names.
Example: (Ricardo and Lehmann 1999)

For citations with three or more authors, list only the first author's name followed by et al.
Example: (Kim et al. 1999)

Cite references chronologically.
Example: (Chen et al. 1997; Scott and Rogers 1998; Isaacson 1999)

For multiple citations with the same first author, list single-author entries by year using 1996a, 1996b, etc.
Example: (Chen et al. 1996a)

Literature Cited

Cite only articles that are published or in press. To cite personal communications or unpublished results, list all contributors by initials and last name; do not use et al.

Order references alphabetically by first author with a space between an author's initials.

List references with three or more authors only by year and without regard to number of authors or alphabetical rank of authors beyond the first. For example:

Texada, M. J., R. A. Simonette, C. B. Johnson, W. J. Deery, and K. M. Beckingham, 2008 Yuri gagarin is required for actin, tubulin and basal body functions in Drosophila spermatogenesis. J. Cell Sci. 121: 1926-1936.

For articles with more than five authors, list the first five names and then et al.

For multiple citations with the same first author published in the same year, list entries by year using 1996a, 1996b, etc. Alphabetize by second author. For example:

Van Heusden, A. W., J. W. van Ooijen, R. Vrielink-van Ginkel, W. H. J. Verbeek, W. A. Wietsm et al., 2000a A genetic map of an interspecific cross in Allium based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100: 118-126.

Van Heusden, A. W., M. Shigyo, Y. Tashiro, R. Vrielink-van Ginkel, and C. Kik, 2000b AFLP linkage group assignment to the chromosomes of Allium cepa L. via monosomic addition lines. Theor. Appl. Genet. 100: 480-486.

Sample journal article citation:
(Note spaces between authors' initials and after the colon.)

Bridges, C. B., and E. G. Anderson, 1925 Crossing over in the X chromosomes of triploid females of Drosophila melanogaster. Genetics 10: 418-441.

Sample book citation:

Sturtevant, A. H., and G. W. Beadle, 1939 An Introduction to Genetics. W. B. Saunders, Philadelphia.

Sample chapter-in-book citation:

Beadle, G. W., 1957 The role of the nucleus in heredity, pp. 3-22 in The Chemical Basis of Heredity, edited by W. D. McElroy and B. Glass. Johns Hopkins Press, Baltimore.

Reagent Table

Wider use of identifiers and recognized symbols increases the transparency and reproducibility of biological research, while aiding curation into research databases. Authors are encouraged to download the spreadsheet here (Excel file), which is designed to be used regularly during the course of a research project, recording reagents as they are received and/or used. 

The spreadsheet format is convenient and flexible for the researcher and provides commonly used download options for readers of publications. Lab-wide use of a common reagent form would facilitate tracking of reagents within the lab and provides information in a structured format that allows bulk downloads and greatly facilitates curation into research databases. In addition to reagents, unambiguous identification of specific genes studied is particularly helpful for genetic and genome databases, as well as for the larger research community.

Authors should upload the spreadsheet at the GSA figshare portal (or a public repository of their choosing) along with all other supplemental files  and refer to it at least once in their manuscript as "Reagent Table". No numbering is required. Please refer to these instructions and the example file (Excel) when creating your Reagent Table using this template (Excel file). This template is a new resource from FlyBase, with input from other model organism databases, and will be of use to the wider research community. We welcome your feedback: g3-gsa@thegsajournals.org.

Within the Reagent Table we encourage authors to use RRIDs to link readers to external resources such as an antibody, organism, or tool.  To obtain an RRID visit https://scicrunch.org/resources and enter your search term(s) there. Once you have located an RRID, please insert "RRID:" plus the identifier in the appropriate location in the manuscript. For help please contact rii-help@scicrunch.org and to request a new RRID, please visit https://scicrunch.org/resources/about/guidelines#organism.

Supplemental Material

In concert with our Data and Reagent Policy, we encourage authors to submit supplemental material, software/code, and data that are required for confirming the results of the published manuscript, that enhance the published manuscript, and that may be of interest to other investigators. Toward this goal, we have partnered with figshare to archive supplemental material, datasets, and software/code.

Enough detail must be provided between the text and the supporting information for the complete replication of the work by an independent scientist. In addition, authors are encouraged to provide information that may aid in the use of the results of the paper for additional studies. For example, in eQTL studies, the data needed to produce the summary cis and trans plot provides detailed information that another scientist seeking to understand what genes may be regulating their favorite gene may find extremely useful. Any information which enhances the impact and usefulness of the work presented is appropriate for the supplement. Other examples include complete analysis results (including those not statistically significant) for microarray analyses, metabolomic data or phenotypic data.

Supplemental material is published to figshare as uploaded by authors, without copyediting or alteration. Cite each piece of supplemental material at least once in the manuscript (for example: see Figure S#, Table S#, or File S#) and include a summary of the files in your Data Availability Statement.

Supplemental Material Guidelines

Detailed instructions and screenshots: full user guide.

1. Prepare supplemental figures, tables, files, data, and code.

a. Figures

i. Place each figure title and legend below the corresponding figure.
ii. The title should begin with the figure number written as Figure S1, Figure S2, Figure S3, etc. in bold font.
iii. If the figure and corresponding title/legend do not fit on one page, place the legend and title on the last page of the figure.

b. Tables

i. Place each table title above the corresponding table.
ii.The title should begin with the table number written as Table S1, Table S2, Table S3, etc.
iii. If possible, use bold font for the entire title including the table number. Table legends can be placed at the bottom of the table along with footnotes.
iv. We encourage you to submit tables as Excel, .csv, or .txt files instead of PDFs.

c. Files

i. Files are supplemental material that does not fall into the figure or table category.
ii. Examples include additional Materials and Method sections, reference papers, videos, large datasets, and code.
iii.Number your files as File S1, File S2, File S3, etc.
iv. If your manuscript describes software, include a code freeze.

2. Cite each piece of supplemental material at least once in the manuscript (e.g. “see Figure S#, Table S#, or File S#)
3. Upload all supplemental figures, tables, and files to figshare at the same time
4. Indicate in your Data Availability Statement that you have uploaded supplementary material to figshare
5. If you need to edit or change the files you’ve uploaded once you are finished, contact editorial staff at g3-gsa@thegsajournals.org.

Instructions for Figshare Upload

Detailed instructions and screenshots: full user guide.

We strongly suggest that authors upload supplemental material prior to submitting the manuscript. This will prevent delays in the editorial process as Editorial Staff will not assign a manuscript to an editor until indicated uploaded materials are processed.

Authors submitting a revision or resubmission should upload all supplemental files/data files again if there have been changes. If there have been no changes to the files, please notify Editorial Staff via email.

If you originally submitted to GENETICS and your manuscript was transferred to G3, please contact g3-gsa@thegsajournals.org to arrange for an update to the figshare record.

1. Collect all previously prepared supplemental material. Name files so that they are clearly identified. We suggest Figure S1, Table S1, File S1, etc. as naming conventions (see above). All files must be uploaded at the same time, and individual file titles cannot be changed after upload.
2. Navigate to the submission portal at https://gsajournals.figshare.com/submit.
3. Choose the correct journal by clicking on the “Select submission group” dropdown menu and choosing G3.
4. Add all of your supplemental material and/or data files either by drag-and-dropping or by using the “Browse” button. Drag-and-dropping or selecting files via Browse will trigger immediate upload, so please upload in one batch.
5. One all files have been uploaded, fill out the information on the screen that loads.

a. Insert a Title. Use the format “Supplemental Material for Author et al., year.” If your manuscript has fewer than four authors, then list all last names.

i. Example: Supplemental Material for Smith et al., 2018
ii. Example: Supplemental Material for Smith, Jones, and Brown, 2018

b. If you uploaded multiple types of file, your Item type will be Fileset by default. If you uploaded multiple files all of the same type, please choose the correct type from the drop-down menu.
c. Add Authors by typing each author’s name and pressing enter. You can rearrange the order in which the authors appear.
d. Select a Category. You can choose more than one either by selecting from the drop-down menu or by searching for your subject area.
e. Add Keyword(s). These should be the same as what you use for your article, plus any additional keywords that apply to the content in the files.
f. Write a Description. This should include a full description of each file uploaded.

i. Example: Figure S1 contains examples of spindle categories. Table S1 contains SNP ID numbers and locations. File S1 contains genotypes for each individual. Code used to generate the simulated data is provided in File S2.

g. Select a License. The available options are:

1. CC BY
2. CC-0
3. MIT
4. GPL
5. GPL-2.0
6. GPL-3.0
7. Apache-2.0

h. Enter your Article title. It is important that you do this so the Editorial Staff can easily identify your submission and properly link your supplemental files to your manuscript.
i. If you have it, enter your Manuscript # from the eJournal Press system. If you have not yet begun your submission in eJournal Press, you can ignore this field. Editorial Staff will complete this information.
j. Don’t worry about the Article DOI; the field is optional, and you are unlikely to have a DOI at this point. Editorial Staff will complete this information.
k. Make sure that everything you have entered is accurate and that all files have been uploaded. You will not be able to make changes to your fileset directly. If you need to make any changes, please contact the Editorial Office at g3-gsa@thegsajournals.org.

6. Click Submit. Editorial Staff will link the uploaded data to your manuscript in the submission system and provide a private URL to the editors and reviewers.
7. Complete your manuscript submission via eJournal Press.

Note: If you did not upload all files at once and need to add more files to your submission, repeat the process and notify the Editorial Office, who will combine all of the files into a single FileSet.

Article Summary

During the online submission process, you will be asked to provide an Article Summary. In fewer than 100 words, summarize the significance of your article for the general readership of G3. This summary may be modified and used in the GSA Newsletter and other promotion of your article.

Editing Services

Below are editing services that authors may want to consult for assistance with manuscript preparation. These services are not affiliated with G3 or the Genetics Society of America, nor does the journal or society take responsibility for their services.

Bioplicity Editing Service
www.bioplicityediting.org
A. Blake Williams, Ph.D.
email: info@bioplicityediting.org

The Charlesworth Group
http://www.charlesworthauthorservices.com/~GSA

Scientific Notations LLC
www.scinotes.com
Michele S. Redmond
email: mredmond@scinotes.com