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Should I submit my paper to mBio®?
mBio is interested in all aspects of microbiology and its allied disciplines, such as immunology, ecology, etc. (see the mBio About page for more details). mBio aims to have a very broad scope. If your work is within the field of microbiology and you feel that it is top science, then mBio welcomes your submission.
Please note that mBio does not consider pre-submission inquiries. If your manuscript falls within these bounds, we encourage you to submit your work. If it is deemed inappropriate for the journal, you should receive a quick editorial decision.
What is the cost to publish in mBio?
Please review our current publication fees (please note that fees are subject to change without notice). Publication fees do not apply to Minireviews, Commentaries, Perspectives, Editorials, Letters to the Editor, or corrections. Although there are no publication fees associated with these article types, supplemental material fees still apply.
Nonmember corresponding authors may join ASM to obtain discounts on publication fees.
Will authors retain copyright of research published in mBio?
Yes, authors retain copyright. To allow for maximum dissemination of research, articles in mBio® are published under the Creative Commons CC BY license, which allows unrestricted reuse of the material with proper attribution. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles.
How can I check the status of my submission?
You can see the “Current Stage” of your manuscript by logging in to the mBio Manuscript Submission and Peer Review System and going into your “Live Manuscripts” folder. Contact [email protected] if you have further questions about the status.
What is an AAM Contribution?
Fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) are entitled to submit one paper per calendar year via a special, accelerated submission path. This path requires Fellows to obtain two reviews prior to submission (from reviewers who are not recent collaborators, trainees, etc.), make any necessary modifications in response to the reviewers' comments, and communicate the paper plus reviewer feedback and author responses to mBio. After the manuscript is received by the journal, it is assigned to a member of the Board of Editors for disposition. The assigned mBio editor has the prerogative of deciding whether or not the submitted reviews should be considered. Although most manuscripts submitted by Fellows are expected to be approved, the editor still has the option of recommending modification or rejection. However, AAM Contributions will not be subject to additional blind review.
How do I submit an AAM Contribution?
AAM Contributions should be primary research articles, formatted in the Research Article or Observation format. You should provide at least two external reviews and explanations of your revisions (in a separate “Response to Reviewer Comments” file). Please see the for fellows page for detailed information on how to submit an AAM Contribution.
Fellows can submit one AAM Contribution per calendar year. Papers cannot be "communicated" via the AAM Contribution path; AAM Fellows can only submit papers that they have authored or co-authored (though they are not required to be the corresponding or senior author).
Why are you publishing the names of the external reviewers for AAM Contributions?
Reviewer names and institutions are published with AAM Contributions to (1) increase transparency in the AAM track review process and (2) create a powerful incentive for authors to secure expert reviewers who are recognized in their fields as such and who have no conflict of interest in the review process. For more information about this change and the AAM Contribution path, please see A. Casadevall and T. Shenk, The Justification for the Academy Track in mBio, mBio 6(4):e01222-15. doi:10.1128/mBio.01222-15. Reviewers are asked to acknowledge this policy on the reviewer form. If reviewers do not wish to have their name published, the review will not be considered, and the AAM Fellow is advised to secure another reviewer.
What is the publication process?
Immediately after acceptance, mBio articles undergo processing for publication. After a short editing and proofing cycle, articles are posted online as soon as they are available in the “Latest Articles” area of the homepage. Bimonthly, these articles are collected into a current issue.
How is mBio indexed?
mBio articles are deposited into PubMed Central, and article citations are deposited into PubMed. mBio has been selected to be fully indexed in MEDLINE.
mBio has been accepted into the following Thomson Reuters products: Science Citation Index Expanded, available as the Web of Science, Biological Abstracts, and Biosis Previews. Summon, Chemical Abstracts Service, and CAPlus are indexing mBio.
What is the “Importance” section?
In addition to the abstract, authors are asked to provide a short (150 words or less), nontechnical explanation of why their work is important. (For a discussion of how to evaluate the importance of a piece of research, see the essay by A. Casadevall and F. C. Fang, Important Science–It's All about the SPIN, Infect. Immun. 77:4177-4180.)
The “Importance” section appears only in the Research Article and Observation article types.
My paper was rejected by another ASM journal. Can I resubmit to mBio?
No. A paper rejected by another ASM journal is considered rejected by mBio and will not be reviewed.
My paper was rejected by mBio. Can I resubmit to another ASM journal?
Yes. A paper rejected by mBio can be resubmitted to another ASM journal without penalty.