--- name: the-plant-journal description: Use when targeting The Plant Journal or deciding whether a plant-science manuscript fits this venue. Encodes the journal's fit, the mechanistic gene-to-function and molecular-rigor bar, evidence and data-deposition expectations, house style, official-submission re-check, and desk-reject heuristics. --- # The Plant Journal (the-plant-journal) ## Journal positioning The Plant Journal, published for the Society for Experimental Biology by Wiley, is a plant-science journal focused on the **molecular, cellular, biochemical, and genetic mechanisms** that govern plant biology — how genes, proteins, metabolites, and regulatory networks produce plant function. Its defining expectation is **rigorous mechanistic evidence**: a gene-to-function study that establishes how something works, supported by genetics, biochemistry, and cell biology, not a phenotype with a plausible candidate. A descriptive or whole-organism/ecological observation with no resolved molecular mechanism fits an ecology/physiology journal better. This skill is a **fit / venue-selection / re-framing** tool. It does not replace the journal's current author guidelines. Before submitting, re-check the live The Plant Journal author guidance. ## When to trigger - The author names The Plant Journal and wants a fit/framing check for a mechanistic molecular-plant paper. - A phenotype or candidate-gene observation must be elevated into a resolved gene-to-function mechanism with the right molecular evidence. - The author is deciding between The Plant Journal and `new-phytologist` and needs the molecular-mechanism versus ecology/physiology-breadth distinction made explicit. - The author needs The Plant Journal's desk-reject heuristics and a credible alternative route. ## Scope & topic fit - Gene function and regulation: transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and epigenetic control established by loss/gain-of-function genetics. - Protein biochemistry, enzymology, and metabolic and signaling pathways with mechanistic resolution. - Cell biology: organelle function, trafficking, cytoskeleton, and subcellular dynamics in plants. - Plant development and physiology where the contribution is the underlying molecular/genetic mechanism. - Plant–microbe and stress responses analyzed at the molecular and biochemical level. - Genomics, gene-editing, and tool/resource papers that enable mechanistic plant biology. ## Method & evidence bar - The central claim must be a **resolved molecular mechanism**: gene-to-function supported by complementary genetics (mutants/complementation/allelic series), biochemistry, and localization, not a single line of correlative evidence. - Knockouts/knockdowns need complementation and, where feasible, independent alleles; off-target and dosage effects should be addressed. - Protein and metabolite claims need direct biochemical assays with controls, quantification, and replication; interaction claims need orthogonal validation. - '-omics' and high-throughput datasets must be followed by functional validation of key hits; candidate lists alone are insufficient. - Sequence, structure, and large datasets must be deposited per community standards with accession numbers; statistics, N, and replication must be reported. ## Structure & house style - The Plant Journal publishes research articles, resource/technical articles, and reviews; re-check current article types and length on the live guide. - The introduction must define the molecular question and the mechanistic gap, then build the gene-to-function logic through the figures. - Main figures should carry the mechanistic chain (genetics → biochemistry → cell biology); extended controls and replicates go to supporting information. - Methods and data-availability statements must allow reproduction; accession numbers and germplasm sources must be complete. ## Official-submission checklist - Before giving submission-ready advice, read `../../resources/source-basis.md` and `../../resources/official-source-map.md`; start from the official source anchors, then cite the current The Plant Journal page you checked. - Search the live site for "The Plant Journal author guidelines" and follow the current SEB/Wiley version. - Re-check article types, word/figure expectations, and abstract format. - Confirm sequence/structure/'-omics' deposition requirements, accession-number reporting, and germplasm/material availability. - Re-check competing-interests, funding, author-contribution, and AI-use disclosure, and open-access terms. - If the live official instructions conflict with this skill, the official instructions win. ## Pre-submission self-check - [ ] The contribution is a resolved gene-to-function mechanism, not a phenotype with a candidate. - [ ] Knockouts/knockdowns are complemented and corroborated by independent alleles where feasible. - [ ] Biochemical/interaction claims have direct assays, controls, and orthogonal validation. - [ ] '-omics' hits are functionally validated, not presented as a candidate list. - [ ] Sequences/structures/datasets are deposited with accessions; N and replication are reported. - [ ] Article type and data/material-availability statements are prepared. ## Common desk-reject triggers - A phenotype with a plausible candidate gene but no mechanistic resolution. - A knockdown phenotype with no complementation and no independent allele. - Interaction or localization claims from a single assay without orthogonal confirmation. - '-omics' catalogues with no functional follow-up of key candidates. - A whole-organism or ecological observation with no molecular mechanism — scope mismatch. ## Re-routing decision - Ecology, physiology, whole-plant/ecosystem-scale integration → `new-phytologist`. - Deepest mechanistic cell biology with broad cell-biology significance → `the-plant-cell`. - Broad headline plant-science significance for a Nature audience → `nature-plants`. - Field-scale agronomy and yield → `field-crops-research`. - Cross-discipline methodological advance with wide reach → `nature-communications` or `science-advances`. ## Output format ```text [Fit] High / Medium / Low (one-line reason) [Target] The Plant Journal [Topic tags] <2–3 closest molecular/genetic plant topics> [Mechanism] [Method/evidence] [Top risk] [Official items to re-check]
[Re-route suggestion] ```