Instructions to Authors
Copyright Transfer Statements

ACTA BIOLOGICA CRACOVIENSIA Series Botanica is an English-language journal founded in 1958, devoted to plant anatomy and morphology, cytology, genetics, embryology, tissue culture, physiology, biochemistry, biosystematics, molecular phylogenetics and phylogeography, as well as phytochemistry. It is published twice a year.

1. ACTA BIOLOGICA CRACOVIENSIA Series Botanica publishes original papers embodying the results of experimental or theoretical research, invited reviews, and brief communications. Manuscripts will be considered only on the understanding that they have not been published and are not being considered for publication elsewhere, that all authors agree on the content of the manuscript, and that laws on nature protection were not violated during the study. Authors have to indicate their specific contributions to the published work in Authors' Contributions and the sources of financial support of their research in Acknowledgements. They should clearly describe the following in their cover letter: (1) the aims and hypothesis of the paper; (2) the novelty of the paper − new achievements or innovations contained in the paper; and (3) the general significance of their paper.
Articles should be written in English (American spelling). Authors whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by a professional translator or a native speaker prior to submission. Manuscripts should be written concisely. Purely descriptive studies, karyological notes on plants outside of central Europe, papers on economic botany as well as manuscripts of restricted interest generally are not considered for publication. In vitro studies which only describe protocols for plant regeneration without providing relevant biological information will not be considered for publication. A manuscript in the field of plant cell culture, physiology, biochemistry and phytochemistry must contain new insights that lead to a better understanding of some aspect of fundamental plant biology. They should be of interest to a wide audience and/or the methods employed should contribute to the advancement of established techniques and approaches. 
Authors are charged a fee for publication of their articles. The bill for publication will be sent with the galley proof. The fee, which is calculated after all articles are accepted, will not exceed 20 USD per printed page for foreign authors and 70 PLZ per printed page for Polish authors. For the standard fee, color illustrations will appear only in the online version of the Journal. At authors' request and for an extra fee, color illustrations may also appear in the printed version. While sending the manuscript, in the letter to the Editor, the authors should declare their contribution towards the extra costs and enumerate the illustrations which are to be printed in color.

2. Manuscripts should be submitted via the editorial manager:
http://www.editorialsystem.com/abcsb
Editor:
Prof. Dr. ANDRZEJ JOACHIMIAK
Department of Plant Cytology and Embryology
Jagiellonian University
ul. Gronostajowa 9, 30-387 Krak&#243w, Poland
e-mail: a.joachimiak@uj.edu.pl 
Manuscripts will be examined by at least two anonymous and independent referees who have declared that they have no conflict of interest with the author(s). Invitedreferees evaluate the manuscript according to the following criteria: (1) formal aspects, (2) originality, (3) importance in its field, (4) theoretical background, (5) adequacy of methodology, (6) results and interpretation, and (7) overall quality.

3. To shorten the review process, authors are asked to indicate 3 or 4 names of specialists working in the same scientific discipline outside of their institution (including the name of their institution and e-mail addresses) who could serve as reviewers of the manuscript. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with lines numbered. On all points of style regarding text and tables, follow a current copy of the journal. Words to be italicized (scientific names of genus and species only) should be typed in italics. 

4. Original papers should not exceed 8 printed pages (approx. 24 manuscript pages including tables and figures).

5. Original papers should be headed by the title of the paper, author's name, institution, address, e-mail address of corresponding author(s) and short title (no more than 50 characters), and should be preceded by 5-10 Key words and a short Abstract. Original research papers should be divided into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Authors' Contributions, Acknowledgements and References.

6. Invited reviews are mostly of limited scope on timely subjects written for a general, well-informed audience. Invited reviews are solicited by the Editor. Ideas for unsolicited reviews should be discussed with the Editor. They are subject to the usual review procedure.

7. Brief communications are short papers (1-4 printed pages) reporting new findings that do not need a standard full-length treatment with the usual main headings. Brief communications are subject to normal review. 

8. References in the text should be cited in the following form: Newton (1990) or Newton and Berrie (1982) or (Ward, 1950; Hiroshi and Ohta, 1970). For three or more authors, use the form Zinkowski et al. (1991) or (Zinkowski et al., 1991).
Examples of style for references:
a) citations of journal papers:
Palmer TP. 1962. Population structure, breeding system, interspecific hybridization and alloploidy. Heredity 17: 278-283.
Chen BY, Heneen WK, Simonsen V. 1989. Comparative and genetic studies of isozymes in resynthesized and cultivated Brassica napus L., Brassica campestris L., and B. alboglabra Baitey. Theoretical and Applied Genetics 77: 673-679.
b) citations of books, congress proceedings, theses:
Bergrren DJ. 1981. Atlas of Seeds, part 3. Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm.
Bing D, Downey RK, Rakow GFW. 1991. Potential of gene transfer among oilseed Brassica and their weedy relatives. Proceedings of the GCTRC Eighth International Rapeseed Congress, 9-11 July 1991, 1022-1027. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Romeo JT. 1973. A chemotaxonomic study of the genus Erythrina (Leguminosae). Ph.D. disseration, University of Texas, Austin, TX.
c) citations of articles and chapters from books:
Phillips RL. 1981. Pollen and pollen tubes. In: Clark G [ed.], Staining Procedures, 61-366. Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, MD.
Authors' names in References should be written in small caps.

9. Tables must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and submitted separately from the text at the end of the paper. The title should be brief and written in the upper part of the table. Footnotes to tables should be indicated by lower-case letters.

10. Illustrations must be restricted to the minimum needed to clarify the text. Previously published illustrations are not accepted. All figures (photographs, graphs, diagrams) must be mentioned in the text. All figures are to be numbered consecutively throughout and submitted separately. Figure captions should be given on a separate page. 
Photographs should be submitted the same size as they are to appear in the journal. If reduction is absolutely necessary, the scale desired should be indicated. The publisher reserves the right to reduce or enlarge illustrations. Photographs should match either the column width (83 mm) or the printing area (170 x 225 mm). Whenever possible, several photos should be grouped in a plate. The photos should be sharp, and each one should be marked with a lower-case letter on the plate. For photographs without an integral scale the magnification of photographs must be stated in the legend. Color illustrations will be accepted; however, the author will be expected to contribute towards the extra costs. The charge will not exceed 150 USD per printed page for foreign authors and 500 PLZ per printed page for Polish authors. 

11. Manuscripts resubmitted after revision: Submit your text written in a standard program (Microsoft Word). Bitmap graphics files should be written in TIFF, or BMP, and vector graphics in AI or CDR (curves). Illustrations written in MS Word or PowerPoint will not be accepted. Submit the text, tables and each figure (plate) as separate files. Every paper will be checked for style and grammar. 
The Editor reserves the right to introduce corrections suggested by the journal's line editor. 

12. Proof will be sent directly to the authors in electronic form as a pdf file. Authors' corrections have to be inserted in the printout of the PDF proof. The corrected proofs must be returned to the Editor within six days via Editorial Manager or by e-mail. Proofs not returned promptly by authors will be corrected by the Editor.

13. Copyright. Exclusive copyright in all papers accepted for publication must be assigned to the Polish Academy of Sciences, but the Academy will not restrict the authors' freedom to use material contained in the paper in other works by the authors.

14. Offprints. A pdf of each paper is supplied to the authors free of charge.