A new series of article-chapters to be published in the journal GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org) promises to help scientists better access the wealth of research knowledge obtained on an important experimental organism used to understand human gene function. The series will be authored by top geneticists from around the world and will cover practically all aspects of modern yeast research and its applications to human health and well-being.
"When investigators identify a gene in other organisms, they first look in the Saccharomyces Genome Database for a homologue," wrote Alan Hinnebusch, Editor-in-Chief of YeastBook and Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of GENETICS, in an editorial appearing in the November issue of GENETICS. "Because of decades of work on S. cerevisiae by a large research community with access to a prodigious experimental toolbox, finding a homologue (which happens more than half the time) brings not only a wealth of information that provides much insight into the gene's function, but also a robust experimental system for further investigations that promise new insights."
The series of chapters published as articles will not only help organize and analyze the overwhelming amount of data obtained on Saccharomyces cerevisiae, but it will also serve as a significant reference tool for those who do not specialize on this organism. In total, the editors of YeastBook and GENETICS anticipate that the compendium will span 50 chapters, but as new research developments occur, the need for additional chapters may arise and will be accommodated by this innovative publishing model.
YeastBook expands on the seminal monograph series The Molecular Biology of the Yeast Saccharomyces, first published by Cold Spring Harbor Press in the early 1980s and last updated more than 15 years ago. After YeastBook articles are published in GENETICS they will be compiled on a separate YeastBook web site. By publishing in GENETICS first, each chapter will benefit from the journal's publishing methods and infrastructure, such as its peer review system and online publishing platform, while allowing for continual updating as needed. In addition to the scrutiny of GENETICS' peer review, each chapter will be edited by a select group of leaders with broad expertise in Saccharomyces biology. The YeastBook editors were recruited by GENETICS' Editorial Board and the Board of Directors of the Genetics Society of America, and represent some of the world's top experts in this field.
"This is a novel approach for publication of a monograph, and it will serve the scientific community well," said Mark Johnston, Editor-in-Chief of GENETICS. "The chapters will be published in a timely fashion, and they will enjoy wide visibility in the pages of a well-regarded journal. I hope this will be the first of several such 'books' published in our journal."
Alan G. Hinnebush, Ph.D., Head of the Program in Cellular Regulation and Metabolism within the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, is the Editor-in-Chief of YeastBook. Mark Johnston, Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is Editor-in-Chief of GENETICS.
Since 1916, GENETICS (http://www.genetics.org) has covered high quality, original research on a range of topics bearing on inheritance, including population and evolutionary genetics, complex traits, developmental and behavioral genetics, cellular genetics, gene expression, genome integrity and transmission, and genome and systems biology. GENETICS, the peer-reviewed, peer-edited journal of the Genetics Society of America is one of the world's most cited journals in genetics and heredity.
Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional membership organization for nearly 5,000 scientific researchers, educators, bioengineers, bioinformaticians and others who work to advance knowledge in genetics, from the molecular to the population level.