PLoS Pathogens

PLoS Pathogens is a peer-reviewed open-access journal focusing on research into pathogens and host interactions. It publishes original research, reviews, and commentary spanning experimental and theoretical studies relevant to infectious agents and immune responses. The journal operates within a framework that emphasizes rapid dissemination and reuse consistent with contemporary publishing initiatives.

History

The journal was established amid shifts in scholarly publishing involving Public Library of Science founders and proponents such as Harold Varmus, Patrick O. Brown, and Michael Eisen, who were associated with debates involving traditional publishers like Nature Publishing Group, Elsevier, and Springer Science+Business Media. Its launch in 2005 occurred alongside contemporaneous developments at PLoS Medicine and PLoS Biology and against the backdrop of policy discussions at institutions such as National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Early editorial leadership included figures with ties to universities and research centers such as Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California, San Francisco, and Yale University. The journal's inception paralleled movements exemplified by the Budapest Open Access Initiative, the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, and advocacy by organizations including SPARC (Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) and Committee on Publication Ethics. Over time editorial boards featured scientists from institutes like Rockefeller University, Max Planck Society, Institut Pasteur, Imperial College London, and Johns Hopkins University, reflecting global engagement across centers including Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Scope and Editorial Policy

PLoS Pathogens covers research on viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and the host responses they elicit, engaging communities at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Karolinska Institute, and University of Tokyo. Its subject areas intersect with investigators from laboratories affiliated with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Salk Institute, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Broad Institute, and Ragon Institute. Editorial policies align with standards promoted by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, COPE and funding bodies including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and European Research Council. The peer-review process draws reviewers from networks including researchers at National Institutes of Health, NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Ethical guidelines reflect consensus from entities such as World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, and regulatory frameworks influenced by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and European Commission policies on research integrity.

Publication and Access Model

The journal uses an open-access model championed by organizations including Creative Commons and licensing practices comparable to movements endorsed by Open Knowledge Foundation and Directory of Open Access Journals. Article processing charges and waivers involve administrative processes interacting with universities like University of California, funding agencies such as Wellcome Trust and Gates Foundation, and consortia like Jisc and Association of Research Libraries. Content appears online alongside innovations in scholarly communication from platforms inspired by projects at arXiv, bioRxiv, and collaborative infrastructures like CrossRef and ORCID. The publishing workflow incorporates editorial management systems similar to those used by journals associated with American Association for the Advancement of Science and Cell Press, and it participates in preservation efforts with organizations such as CLOCKSS, Portico, and national libraries including Library of Congress.

Impact and Reception

Scholarly impact is evidenced by citation patterns tracked by services like Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, and metrics considered by research offices at Princeton University, Columbia University, Cornell University, and University of Chicago. Reception among scientists has been discussed at conferences including American Society for Microbiology General Meeting, European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases Society of America meetings, and symposia at institutions like Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Gordon Research Conferences. Reviews and commentary have appeared in outlets such as The Lancet, Science, Cell, Nature Reviews Microbiology, and policy discussions at National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Debates about open access, peer review, and reproducibility have involved stakeholders including Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Wellcome Trust, and national funders across United Kingdom Research and Innovation, National Science Foundation, and European Research Council.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in major databases and services including PubMed, MEDLINE, Embase, CAB Abstracts, BIOSIS Previews, Chemical Abstracts Service, Science Citation Index Expanded, Current Contents/Life Sciences, Scopus, and Google Scholar. Institutional repositories and discovery systems at organizations such as WorldCat, OCLC, Europe PMC, and national libraries in United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and Japan facilitate access and archiving. Indexing supports compliance with mandates from funders and agencies like National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and regional bodies including Horizon Europe and Research Councils UK.

Category:Open access journals