Research Involving Plants

Experimental research on plants (cultivated and wild), including the collection of plant materials, must be conducted in compliance with applicable institutional, national, and international guidelines. We therefore recommend that authors consult the Convention on Biological Diversity as well as the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

For each submitted manuscript, supporting information on the genetics and origin of the plants involved must be provided. When the research involves rare and non-model plants (other than, e.g., Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, or Oryza sativa), voucher specimens must be deposited in an accessible herbarium or museum. Future investigators may review these vouchers in order to verify the identity of the material used in a study (especially in cases in which subsequent taxonomic rearrangements occur). Submissions of specimens should provide details of the populations sampled at the site of collection (including GPS coordinates), the date of collection, and an indication of the parts of the plants used in the study where appropriate. The requirement for this documentation may be waived for work involving threatened or endangered species provided that the researchers submit a cover letter with their manuscript explaining the situation. The editors reserve the right to reject any submission that does not meet these requirements.

The following are examples of ethical statements:

·        "Torenia fournieri plants were used in this study. White-flowered crown white (CrW) and violet-flowered crown violet (CrV) cultivars selected from the ‘Crown Mix’ (XXX Company, City, Country) were kindly provided by Dr. XXX (XXX Institute, City, Country)."

·        "Arabidopis mutant lines (SALKxxxx, SAILxxxx, …) were kindly provided by Dr. XXX, institute, city, country)."