What is the unique feature of the journal?

Prof. Xu: In the Journal Citation Reports category of BAM (Biotechnology and Applied Microbiology), the currently indexed journals such as Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Journal of Biotechnology, Biotechnology Journal, Journal of Biosciences and Bioengineering, and Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering, cover a broad range of technological and engineering aspects of biological processes. Recent research trends are the production of next generation biochemicals, biofuels, foods, feeds, and pharmaceuticals from lignocellulosic biomass or waste materials (bioresources) by heterotrophic and photosynthetic organisms towards sustainable energy and green society.

This journal, Bioresources and Bioprocessing (BIOB), therefore, mainly focuses on the contribution to such popular research areas. Compared with other existing journals covering bioresources and biofuels, this journal covers the bio-processing from the upstream (pretreatment of cellulosic biomass), fermentation, to down-stream processing (separation and purification). This journal also covers the recent progress on metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and systems biology for building the efficient microbial cell factories, which all attract lots of attention.

How about the visibility and impact of the journal？

Prof. Xu: All the published papers have been strictly reviewed by at least 2−3 international peers in 1−3 rounds. Currently the rejection rate of manuscripts submitted to this journal is kept at 65-70%. In other words, only one thirds of the submissions are accepted for publication after peer review. As listed below, the top 5 most cited articles reflect the unique trans-discipline features of BIOB, filling gaps between different disciplines, such as plant bioresources utilization and nanotechnology, biochemical production of natural products (mainly plant-originated) and the metabolic engineering or synthetic biology of either microbial or plant cells. Therefore, the publications of BIOB have been frequently downloaded and increasingly cited.

• Leaf extract mediated green synthesis of silver nanoparticles from widely available Indian plants: synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial property and toxicity analysis Research; July 2014; Citations 52; Accesses 66,767 (Nov 2017)
• Synthesis of silver nanoparticles using seed exudates of Sinapis arvensis as a novel bioresource, and evaluation of their antifungal activity Research; April 2015; Citations 20;Accesses 4,600 (Nov 2017)
• Biosynthesis of nanoparticles and silver nanoparticles Review; December 2015; Citations 19; Accesses 13,201 (Nov 2017)
• Enhanced limonene production by optimizing the expression of limonene biosynthesis and MEP pathway genes in E. coli Research; August 2014; Citations 15; Accesses 4,502 (Nov 2017)
• Enhanced production of flavonoids by methyl jasmonate elicitation in cell suspension culture of Hypericum perforatum Research; August 2014; Citations 14; Accesses 7,410 (Nov 2017)

How about the international diversity of this China-based biotechnology journal？

Prof. Xu: Among the 60 Editorial Board Members, 40 people come from Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, etc.), 11 from North America (USA), and 6 from Europe (Germany, UK, Denmark). BIOB also has global authorship. Authors from 34 countries or regions have submitted their manuscripts to BIOB during 2014-2016. The journal has published nearly 200 articles from 20 countries/territories since it was launched in 2014, among which China, India, USA, Japan contributed most publications.

Content published in BIOB were accessed by truly global readers. As per the stats in 2016, the journal website was accessed 115,910 times by people from more than 40 countries, among which, 58% comes from Asia-pacific region, 14% from Europe, and 10% from North America.