PLOS Genetics

PLOS Genetics
Title	PLOS Genetics
Discipline	Genetics, Genomics, Molecular Biology
Abbreviation	PLOS Genet.
Publisher	Public Library of Science
Frequency	Monthly
History	2005–present
License	Creative Commons Attribution

PLOS Genetics is a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal publishing research in genetics and genomics. Founded in 2005, the journal is part of the Public Library of Science family and aims to disseminate work spanning organismal genetics, population genetics, functional genomics, and computational genomics. It serves as a venue for primary research, reviews, and perspectives that intersect with model-organism communities, clinical genetics consortia, and large-scale sequencing initiatives.

History

PLOS Genetics was launched by the Public Library of Science consortium amid a growing open-access movement that included initiatives such as the Budapest Open Access Initiative, the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, and funder-led mandates like policies from the Wellcome Trust and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Early editorial leadership drew contributors from institutions such as Harvard University, University of Cambridge, Stanford University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of California, Berkeley. The journal emerged during contemporaneous developments including the completion of the Human Genome Project and the rise of projects like the 1000 Genomes Project and the ENCODE Project, positioning it to capture advances in sequencing technologies developed by groups at Broad Institute and companies such as Illumina and Pacific Biosciences. Over successive years the journal’s profile intersected with milestones like the advent of CRISPR-Cas9 applications from teams at University of California, Berkeley and Broad Institute, the expansion of genome-wide association studies championed by researchers at Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, and cross-disciplinary collaborations between centers including Sanger Institute, Max Planck Society, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Scope and Content

The journal’s scope spans experimental and computational studies in organismal genetics, functional genomics, population genetics, quantitative genetics, and evolutionary genetics. Articles often engage model-organism communities linked to Drosophila melanogaster labs at University of California, San Diego and University of Cambridge, Caenorhabditis elegans consortia at University of Minnesota and Massachusetts General Hospital, and vertebrate genetics groups working on Mus musculus at Jackson Laboratory and zebrafish researchers at University of Oregon. Human genetics contributions frequently reference cohorts and consortia such as UK Biobank, Framingham Heart Study, and international collaborations like the International HapMap Project. The journal publishes research relevant to clinical and translational groups at institutions including Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, and National Institutes of Health intramural programs. Computational and statistical genetics papers reflect methods developed in groups at University of Washington, Carnegie Mellon University, and ETH Zurich.

Editorial Board and Peer Review

The editorial board is composed of academic editors and professional staff drawn from research centers like Yale University, Princeton University, University of Chicago, and University of California, San Francisco. Editors manage peer review processes involving reviewers across networks including American Society of Human Genetics, Genetics Society of America, and specialist working groups from European Molecular Biology Laboratory. The journal employs editorial standards comparable to leading journals such as Nature Genetics, Genome Research, and The American Journal of Human Genetics. Peer-review decisions incorporate assessments of methodology from labs experienced with techniques from core facilities at Broad Institute, Sanger Institute, and high-throughput centers affiliated with Wellcome Sanger Institute. Conflicts of interest and data-availability practices reflect policies advocated by bodies like Committee on Publication Ethics and funders such as National Science Foundation.

Publication Model and Access

As an open-access title of the Public Library of Science, the journal publishes under Creative Commons licenses adopted by many funders including Wellcome Trust and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The model allows immediate access comparable to other open venues such as eLife and BMC Biology. Manuscripts undergo initial editorial triage followed by peer review; accepted papers are published online continuously and indexed in major databases used by researchers at National Center for Biotechnology Information, European Nucleotide Archive, and EMBL-EBI. Data-sharing expectations align with community standards from projects like the 1000 Genomes Project and repositories such as GenBank, ArrayExpress, and Gene Expression Omnibus.

Impact and Reception

PLOS Genetics has been cited in literature alongside influential journals including Nature, Science, Cell, and Nature Genetics. Its impact has been noted in analyses by bibliometric groups and policy discussions hosted by organizations like the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the Royal Society. The journal’s role in promoting open access has been highlighted in debates involving stakeholders such as Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition and university libraries at University of California and University of Oxford. Researchers publishing in PLOS Genetics have included leaders from Stanford University School of Medicine, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Scripps Research, and the work has influenced downstream studies in consortia like the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.

Notable Articles and Special Issues

Notable articles published in the journal have addressed topics central to fields advanced at institutions such as Harvard Medical School, MIT, Utrecht University, and University of Toronto. Special issues and collections have been organized around themes resonant with international initiatives, including population genomics of projects like Human Cell Atlas, methodological advances tied to single-cell sequencing technologies developed at Broad Institute, and synthetic biology topics relevant to researchers at ETH Zurich and Imperial College London. Contributions have included papers influential for clinical genetics groups at Broad Institute and translational research teams at Oxford University Hospitals.

Category:Open access journals Category:Genetics journals