As a result of the significant disruption that is being caused by the COVID-19 pandemic we understand that many authors and peer reviewers will be making adjustments to their professional and personal lives. As a result they may have difficulty in meeting the timelines associated with our peer review process. Please let the journal editorial office know if you need additional time. Our systems will continue to remind you of the original timelines but we intend to be flexible.
Thank you for choosing to submit your paper to us. These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly. Please take the time to read and follow them as closely as possible, as doing so will ensure your paper matches the journal’s requirements.
For general guidance on every stage of the publication process, please visit our Author Services website.
For editing support, including translation and language polishing, explore our Editing Services website
This journal uses Editorial Manager to peer review manuscript submissions. Please read the guide for Editorial Manager authors before making a submission. Complete guidelines for preparing and submitting your manuscript to this journal are provided below.
About the Journal
Open Access
Image Submission
Peer Review and Ethics
Preparing Your Paper
Style Guidelines
Formatting and Templates
References
Editing Services
Checklist
Using Third-Party Material
Submitting Your Paper
Cover Image Submission
Data Sharing Policy
Publication Charges
Copyright Options
Complying with Funding Agencies
Accepted Manuscripts Online
My Authored Works
Reprints
About the JournalAutophagy is an international, peer-reviewed journal publishing high-quality, original research. Please see the journal's Aims & Scope for information about its focus and peer-review policy.
Please note that this journal only publishes manuscripts in English.
Autophagy accepts the following types of article:
Research Paper
Reviews
Brief Reports
Addenda
Letters to the Editor
Toolbox
Protocol
Resource
Commentaries and Views
Puncta
Meeting Reports
Open AccessYou have the option to publish open access in this journal via our Open Select publishing program. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership and impact of your research. Articles published Open Select with Taylor & Francis typically receive 32% more citations* and over 6 times as many downloads** compared to those that are not published Open Select.
Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access. Visit our Author Services website to find out more about open access policies and how you can comply with these.
You will be asked to pay an article publishing charge (APC) to make your article open access and this cost can often be covered by your institution or funder. Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
Please visit our Author Services website or contact openaccess@tandf.co.uk if you would like more information about our Open Select Program.
*Citations received up to Jan 31st 2020 for articles published in 2015-2019 in journals listed in Web of Science®.
**Usage in 2017-2019 for articles published in 2015-2019.
Please note only EPS file format and PDF submission are accepted for manuscript images. Make sure the image quality is up to suitable quality, if not another format type will be requested. If you are submitting in PDF format, source files in high resolution format will be requested prior to acceptance.
Peer Review and EthicsTaylor & Francis is committed to peer-review integrity and upholding the highest standards of review. Once your paper has been assessed for suitability by the editor, it will then be single or double blind peer reviewed by independent, anonymous expert referees. Find out more about what to expect during peer review and read our guidance on publishing ethics.
Preparing Your PaperResearch PaperShould be written with the following elements in the following order: Title Page; Abstract; Keywords; Abbreviations; Introduction; Results; Discussion; Patients and Methods/Materials and Methods; Acknowledgments; Disclosure statement; References; Table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); Figure legends (as a list); Figures.
Should contain an unstructured abstract of 250 words.
Should contain between 5 and 10 keywords. Read making your article more discoverable, including information on choosing a title and search engine optimization.
Research Papers can be submitted in the categories of Basic Science, Translational or Clinical. For any of these categories the paper should include the following sections in the order indicated:
Title page: Include all author affiliations, contact information for the corresponding author, and a list of at least five keywords in alphabetical order (do not repeat words in the title of the paper).
Abstract: A single paragraph of 250 words maximum. The primary goal of the abstract should be to make the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. References should not be cited in the abstract.
Abbreviations: List abbreviations for words used at least three times; words used less than three times should be spelled out in full for all uses. For the abbreviations, as for the main text, use official gene or protein names as indicated in the appropriate databases such as HGNC or MGI (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.4161/auto.20665).
Introduction: As noted above for Abbreviations, for terms used three or more times in the paper write out the full name when first used and then the abbreviation in parentheses; use the abbreviation in all subsequent uses.
Results: Present results in a logical sequence in tables and figures. In the text, explain, emphasize or summarize the most important observations. Units of measurement should be expressed in accordance with Systeme International d'Unites (SI Units).
Discussion: Do not repeat in detail the data given in the Results section. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study. Relate observations to other relevant published studies. On the basis of your findings (and those of others), discuss possible implications/conclusions for the field. When stating a new hypothesis, clearly label it as such. State the strengths and weaknesses/limitations of the study.
Patients and Methods/Materials and Methods: Describe the selection of patients or experimental animals, including controls. Do not use patients' names or hospital numbers. Identify methods, apparatus (manufacturer's name and address including city, state and country as appropriate) and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Provide references and brief descriptions of methods that have been published. When using new methods, evaluate their advantages and limitations. Identify drugs and chemicals, including generic name, dosage and route(s) of administration; for all reagents include the company name and catalog number in parentheses in that order, but do not include the company location (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.4161/auto.5.4.8509). For reagents obtained from Addgene, also include the name of the depositing lab. For western blots, indicate in the Materials and Methods section the method used to verify that the bands are in the linear range of detection. Note that any materials and methods that pertain to experiments in the main part of the paper cannot be placed in the Supplement.
For work using animals or human patients, indicate whether the procedures were approved by the appropriate committee such as the Ethics Committee of Human Experimentation in your country, or are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 2013.
References: No more than 125. The current journal style for citing references in the text is to use brackets and to place the reference before the punctuation: 「…as reported previously [27].」
Figure legends must be included. Each figure legend should start with a title. Panel letters should be in capitals in bold, surrounded by non-bold parentheses (e.g., (A), etc.). On the figures do not use parentheses or periods after panel letters. When using hierarchical designations, start with Roman numerals; Ai, Aii, Aiii, etc. instead of Aa, Ab Ac.
Tables: Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and include descriptive titles and legends; the title should be placed above the table and all other information should be placed below.
Figures: Use a standard format for presenting figures (https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15548627.2014.996046). Note that each individual figure must fit on a single page, figures must be presented in the portrait orientation (8.5 inches wide x 11 inches high), and all labels must be easy to read at the final figure size (e.g., labels on graph axes should not be substantially smaller than other labels in the same figure).
Supplement: There is now a limit on the number of figures that can be presented in the supplement; there is a maximum of one supplemental figure for each figure in the main part of the paper. As noted above, Supplemental Materials and Methods can only be used for information that pertains to experiments conducted only in the Supplement. The exceptions include lists of oligonucleotide primers, which can be presented in a supplemental table, and large datasets, which can be presented in Excel files.
ReviewsThe editor will solicit reviews on all topics related to autophagy. In general, the preferred type of review article will be written by multiple investigators from several labs, providing a more thorough, in-depth overview of the literature. Nonsolicited review articles will also be considered, with preference given to articles by researchers who have a history of working in the autophagy field. All review articles, including solicited reviews, will be subject to peer review, and publication is not guaranteed. There is no specific page limit or reference limit, but concise reviews are more likely to have a significant impact. References should include a table of contents and a list of abbreviations. References should not be cited in the abstract. Note that page charges apply to reviews unless an exception from the journal office has been obtained prior to acceptance.
Brief ReportsA Brief Report is intended to be a short paper, usually not exceeding three figures in total, that stands on its own as a complete story. The format is similar to a standard paper, but the Results and Discussion sections may be combined; there is no specific page limit, but the paper should be written in a concise manner. Brief Reports should constitute unusually interesting data combined with a discussion of what the data might mean, or an explanation of why the data contradicts current paradigms. The primary goal of the abstract should be to make the general significance and conceptual advance of the work clearly accessible to a broad readership. Please include the following: Title page as for Research Papers. Abstract: One paragraph of fewer than 150 words. Figures: Typically not to exceed three in total. References: No more than 50.
AddendaAn addendum is a short paper, usually not exceeding two figures, that is a follow-up to a previously published paper. In contrast to a Brief Report, an addendum does not have to stand on its own, but rather is an adjunct to the previous paper. The idea behind the addenda category is that authors can publish data that were not included in another manuscript due for example to space limitations; these data should be of clear significance to the autophagy community. The format for an addendum is similar to a Brief Report, and unlike puncta the addenda are peer reviewed. Authors interested in writing addenda should contact the editor-in-chief prior to submission.
Letters to the EditorLetters to the Editor are aimed at publishing short, but important, breakthrough data not embedded within a complex story. This can also be what is considered a Minimal Publishable Unit. In other words, data that are sufficient in themselves to be published, but not a part of a larger story that would comprise an entire research article. The abstract should not be longer than 120 words. The paper should be structured as a research paper (see above), but without the headings and subheadings. No more than 50 references and no more than 4,500 words.
ToolboxThis category is for papers that follow the general guidelines for Research Papers or Brief Reports but have a focus on methodology. The number of references should be commensurate with the length of the article. The difference between Toolbox and Protocol papers is that the former should include new data in the form of an experiment(s) demonstrating the utility of the approach. Successful Toolbox papers will compare the new methodology to that which already exists, and note the advantages of the newly described method.
ProtocolThese are papers that provide detailed descriptions of procedures that may be of use to researchers in the autophagy field. The methodology should be described in sufficient detail, including all of the necessary reagents (along with source and catalog number), to allow the procedure to be repeated by another lab without the need for extensive reference to other publications. That is, the protocol should provide an essentially self-sufficient set of directions, with the exception of standard procedures such as transformation/transfection, etc. However, with regard to determining what is 「standard,」 keep in mind that a researcher from outside your own field/system may wish to use the protocol. In contrast to Toolbox papers, Protocols do not need to provide new data. The Protocols should be written using a hierarchical numbering system, which makes it easy to refer to specific sections.
ResourceThe Resource category is for papers that provide useful information for the community, but that may not be complete stories, or may not yet have mechanistic information. Examples of appropriate papers include large-scale screens. Resource papers should be written in the style of Research Papers.
Commentaries and ViewsCommentaries and Views may be short and focused opinion articles, commentaries on papers recently published in Autophagy or elsewhere, or commentaries on significant conceptual changes, important trends or new directions in the field. These may include figures and up to 30 references. Please include an abstract of 15–200 words.
PunctaPuncta are essentially an auto-commentary. The Editorial Board will solicit authors of the most significant recent and forthcoming papers, published elsewhere, to provide a short summary with additional insights, new interpretations or speculation on the relevant topic; authors are also welcome to contact the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Associate Editors to check on the possibility of submitting a punctum. The puncta should not include data, but model figures are acceptable (if you choose to include a previously published figure it is incumbent upon the authors to obtain all necessary approval from the original publisher to reproduce the figure); if you wish to include unpublished data, please use an alternative format. The first paragraph will constitute the abstract and the text is limited to 1,000 words (not including figure legends, which should be a maximum of 150 words). Puncta will have a single reference, not within the abstract, that corresponds to the original paper. Puncta are only considered for papers published in a journal having an impact factor close to or higher than that of Autophagy. Submit puncta using the 「Commentary」 category, and then under the window for 「Section/Category」 that appears under 「General Information」 choose 「Commentary – Autophagic Punctum」.
Meeting ReportsMeeting Reports are summaries of presentations from recent meetings in the field. Authors are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief with proposals for meeting reports. Also, please contact the meeting organizers to verify that reports will be permitted. Please include an abstract of 150–200 words
Style GuidelinesPlease refer to these quick style guidelines when preparing your paper, rather than any published articles or a sample copy.
Please use American spelling style consistently throughout your manuscript.
Please use double quotation marks, except where 「a quotation is 『within』 a quotation」. Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks.
Formatting and TemplatesPapers may be submitted in Word format. Figures should be saved separately from the text. To assist you in preparing your paper, we provide formatting template(s).
Word templates are available for this journal. Please save the template to your hard drive, ready for use.
If you are not able to use the template via the links (or if you have any other template queries) please contact us here.
ReferencesPlease use this reference guide when preparing your paper.
Taylor & Francis Editing ServicesTo help you improve your manuscript and prepare it for submission, Taylor & Francis provides a range of editing services. Choose from options such as English Language Editing, which will ensure that your article is free of spelling and grammar errors, Translation, and Artwork Preparation. For more information, including pricing, visit this website.
Checklist: What to IncludeAuthor details. All authors of a manuscript should include their full name and affiliation on the cover page of the manuscript. Where available, please also include ORCiDs and social media handles (Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn). One author will need to be identified as the corresponding author, with their email address normally displayed in the article PDF (depending on the journal) and the online article. Authors』 affiliations are the affiliations where the research was conducted. If any of the named co-authors moves affiliation during the peer-review process, the new affiliation can be given as a footnote. Please note that no changes to affiliation can be made after your paper is accepted. Read more on authorship.
Funding details. Please do not include funding information in the text. You will be asked to enter this information online during the submission process.
Disclosure statement. This is to acknowledge any financial interest or benefit that has arisen from the direct applications of your research. Further guidance on what is a conflict of interest and how to disclose it.
Data availability statement. If there is a data set associated with the paper, please provide information about where the data supporting the results or analyses presented in the paper can be found. Where applicable, this should include the hyperlink, DOI or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s). Templates are also available to support authors.
Data deposition. If you choose to share or make the data underlying the study open, please deposit your data in a recognized data repository prior to or at the time of submission. You will be asked to provide the DOI, pre-reserved DOI, or other persistent identifier for the data set.
Geolocation information. Submitting a geolocation information section, as a separate paragraph before your acknowledgements, means we can index your paper’s study area accurately in JournalMap’s geographic literature database and make your article more discoverable to others. More information.
Supplemental online material. Supplemental material can be a video, dataset, fileset, sound file or anything which supports (and is pertinent to) your paper. We publish supplemental material online via Figshare. Find out more about supplemental material and how to submit it with your article.
Figures. Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size). Figures should be supplied in EPS file format.
Tables. Tables should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text. Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text. Please supply editable files.
Equations. If you are submitting your manuscript as a Word document, please ensure that equations are editable. More information about mathematical symbols and equations.
Units. Please use SI units (non-italicized).
Using Third-Party Material in your PaperYou must obtain the necessary permission to reuse third-party material in your article. The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is usually permitted, on a limited basis, for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission. If you wish to include any material in your paper for which you do not hold copyright, and which is not covered by this informal agreement, you will need to obtain written permission from the copyright owner prior to submission. More information on requesting permission to reproduce work(s) under copyright.
Submitting Your PaperThis journal uses Editorial Manager to manage the peer-review process. If you haven't submitted a paper to this journal before, you will need to create an account in Editorial Manager. Please read the guidelines above and then submit your paper in the relevant Author Centre, where you will find user guides and a helpdesk.
Please note that Autophagy uses Crossref™ to screen papers for unoriginal material. By submitting your paper to Autophagy you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-review and production processes.
On acceptance, we recommend that you keep a copy of your Accepted Manuscript. Find out more about sharing your work.
Cover Image SubmissionAutophagy selects a cover illustration from accepted articles, or from submitted images that are designed to accompany an accepted article.
The cover illustration should be scientifically interesting and visually attractive. The illustration need not be a figure from the paper, but should be closely related to the subject of the paper.
If you are interested in submitting a figure for use on the cover, please email a high-resolution version of your image, conforming to the specifications below, and an explanatory caption of 50–60 words to the Editor-in-Chief.
All potential cover images should be sized to fit on a single letter size (8.5" x 11") page. Please remove all text, captions, etc. from the image. If you have variations of the image, you may send additional files.
Please send no more than two alternate versions. Accepted formats and resolution:
· PSD (Adobe Photoshop: if graphics are built with layers, do not flatten), 300 dpi, CMYK at 100% size.
· TIF, 300 dpi, CMYK at 100% size
· JPG, 300 dpi highest quality, CMYK at 100% size.
· EPS (scalable vector line art)
· AI (Adobe Illustrator)
Please note that the file formats for submitted manuscript images differ from cover images, please see guidelines on Image Submission.
Data Sharing PolicyThis journal applies the Taylor & Francis Basic Data Sharing Policy. Authors are encouraged to share or make open the data supporting the results or analyses presented in their paper where this does not violate the protection of human subjects or other valid privacy or security concerns.
Authors are encouraged to deposit the dataset(s) in a recognized data repository that can mint a persistent digital identifier, preferably a digital object identifier (DOI) and recognizes a long-term preservation plan. If you are uncertain about where to deposit your data, please see this information regarding repositories.
Authors are further encouraged to cite any data sets referenced in the article and provide a Data Availability Statement.
At the point of submission, you will be asked if there is a data set associated with the paper. If you reply yes, you will be asked to provide the DOI, pre-registered DOI, hyperlink, or other persistent identifier associated with the data set(s). If you have selected to provide a pre-registered DOI, please be prepared to share the reviewer URL associated with your data deposit, upon request by reviewers.
Where one or multiple data sets are associated with a manuscript, these are not formally peer reviewed as a part of the journal submission process. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure the soundness of data. Any errors in the data rest solely with the producers of the data set(s).
Publication ChargesAuthors are charged $140 per printed page.
Taylor and Francis operates a waiver policy for low- and lower-middle-income economies which applies to page charges. Corresponding authors with primary affiliations based in countries defined by the World Bank as 'Low-Income Economies' are entitled to apply for a 100% page charge waiver and corresponding authors with primary affiliations based in countries defined by the World Bank as 'Lower-Middle-Income Economies' are entitled to apply for a 50% discount on the normal page charge. If you think you may be eligible for a page charge discount or waiver, please check that your country is one of those defined by the World Bank as being low-income or lower-middle-income. Submit through the journal's online submission system in the usual way, following the Instructions for Authors. During the process of submitting your manuscript online you will be asked whether you wish to request a discount or waiver. Please select the appropriate option at this stage. Please note that discount and waiver requests must be made when you first submit your manuscript.
Colour figures will be reproduced in colour in your online article free of charge. If it is necessary for the figures to be reproduced in colour in the print version, a charge will apply.
Charges for colour figures in print are £300 per figure ($400 US Dollars; $500 Australian Dollars; €350). For more than 4 colour figures, figures 5 and above will be charged at £50 per figure ($75 US Dollars; $100 Australian Dollars; €65). Depending on your location, these charges may be subject to local taxes.
Copyright OptionsCopyright allows you to protect your original material, and stop others from using your work without your permission. Taylor & Francis offers a number of different license and reuse options, including Creative Commons licenses when publishing . Read more on publishing agreements.
Complying with Funding AgenciesWe will deposit all National Institutes of Health or Wellcome Trust-funded papers into PubMedCentral on behalf of authors, meeting the requirements of their respective open access policies. If this applies to you, please tell our production team when you receive your article proofs, so we can do this for you. Check funders』 open access policy mandates here. Find out more about sharing your work.
My Authored WorksOn publication, you will be able to view, download and check your article’s metrics (downloads, citations and Altmetric data) via My Authored Works on Taylor & Francis Online. This is where you can access every article you have published with us, as well as your free eprints link, so you can quickly and easily share your work with friends and colleagues.
We are committed to promoting and increasing the visibility of your article. Here are some tips and ideas on how you can work with us to promote your research.
Article ReprintsYou will be sent a link to order article reprints via your account in our production system. For enquiries about reprints, please contact the Taylor & Francis Author Services team at reprints@tandf.co.uk. You can also order print copies of the journal issue in which your article appears.
QueriesShould you have any queries, please visit our Author Services website or contact us here.