1. Aims and Scope

Mitochondrial DNA will accept original high quality reports based on mapping, sequencing and analysis of mitochondrial DNA and RNA. Descriptive papers on DNA sequences from mitochondrial genomes, and also analytical papers in the areas of population genetics, medical genetics, phylogenetics and human evolution that use mitochondrial DNA as a source of evidence for studies will be considered for publication. The editorial board will also consider manuscripts that examine population genetic and systematic theory that specifically address the use of mitochondrial DNA sequences, as well as papers that discuss the utility of mitochondrial DNA information in medical studies and in human evolutionary biology. 

Further information about the Journal, including links to the online sample copy and contents pages, can be found on the Journal homepage.


2. Editor-in-Chief

Please click here for the full Editorial Board.

3. Submission of Manuscripts

All submissions should be made online at Mitochondrial DNA's Manuscript Central site. New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the site submissions should be made via the Author Centre.

Please submit the main text, together with the legends to figures and any tables, in a single file in Word 2003 or previous (.doc) format. (Manuscripts that are submitted in PDF format cannot be processed for publication.) Figures for the main text, appropriately numbered but without legends, should be submitted in a PowerPoint, TIFF, or JPG file. (Figures that are submitted in PDF format cannot be processed for publication.) Supplementary text, legends to supplementary figures and supplementary tables, should be submitted in an additional, single file in Word format. Supplementary figures should be submitted in a separate PowerPoint, TIFF, or JPG file. For Supplementary movie files, please see below. 

4. Preparation of Manuscripts

Mitochondrial DNA considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to Mitochondrial DNA , that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. Authors who fail to adhere to this condition will be charged with all costs that Mitochondrial DNA  incurs and their papers will not be published.

Research article contributions to Mitochondrial DNA must report original research. Research papers and review papers will be subjected to review by referees. The following guidelines apply:

i. For all manuscripts non-discriminatory language is mandatory. Sexist or racist terms should not be used.

ii. Each paper should have three to six keywords.

iii. Papers are accepted only in English.

iv. All the authors of a paper should include their full names, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone and fax numbers and email addresses on the cover page of manuscripts.

v. Abstracts of 100 - 150 words are required for all papers submitted and should precede the text of a paper – see Notes on Style.

vi. Manuscripts should be compiled in the following order: title page; abstract; keywords; main text; acknowledgments; appendixes (as appropriate); references; table(s) with caption(s) (on individual sheets); figure caption(s) (as a list).

vii. Section headings should be concise and numbered sequentially, using a decimal system for subsections.

viii.Authors must adhere to SI units.

ix.For information on submitting animations, movie files and sound files or any additional information including indexes and calendars please click here.

x. When using a word which is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark authors must use the symbol ® or TM or alternatively a footnote can be inserted using the wording below:

This article includes a word that is or is asserted to be a proprietary term or trade mark. Its inclusion does not imply it has acquired for legal purposes a non-proprietary or general significance, nor is any other judgement implied concerning its legal status.


5. Ethics and Consent

When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 1983. Do not use patients'names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. Papers including animal experiments or clinical trials must be conducted with approval by the local animal care or human subject committees, respectively.

Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees, unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published.

6. Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

It is the sole responsibility of authors to disclose any affiliation with any organisation with a financial interest, direct or indirect, in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (such as consultancies, employment, expert testimony, honoraria, speakers' bureaus, retainers, stock options or ownership) that may affect the conduct or reporting of the work submitted. If uncertain as to what might be considered a potential conflict of interest, authors should err on the side of full disclosure. Information about potential conflict of interest should be clearly stated at the point of submission (for example in a cover letter, or where available within the appropriate field on the Journal's Manuscript Central site). This may be made available to reviewers and may be published with the manuscript at the discretion of the Editors.

7. Disclosure of Sources of funding

All sources of funding for research are to be explicitly stated, at the point of submission. This may be published with the manuscript at the discretion of the Editors.

8. Authorship Contributions

Contributions must be substantial in order to warrant authorship. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. All other contributors should be listed as acknowledgements.

Any figure submitted as a colour original will appear in colour in the Journal' online edition free of charge and can be downloaded. Paper copy colour reproduction will only be considered on condition that authors contribute to the associated costs. The charges are £500/US$900 for the first colour page and £250/US$450 for each colour page after per article.

There are no charges for non-colour pages.

10. Proofs

The Editor reserves the right to proceed to press without submitting page proofs to the author. However, usual practice will involve corresponding authors receiving email notification with a password and Web address from which to download a PDF. Hard copies of proofs will not be mailed. To avoid delays in publication, corrections to proofs must be returned within 48 hours, by electronic transmittal, fax or mail. Authors will be charged for excessive correction at this stage of production.

If authors do not return page proofs promptly, the Editor reserves the choice to either delay publication to a subsequent issue or to proceed to press without author corrections.

11. Offprints and Reprints

Corresponding authors will receive free online access to their article through our website (www.informaworld.com). Reprints of articles published in this journal can be purchased through Rightslink® when proofs are received. If you have any queries, please contact our reprints department at reprints@tandf.co.uk.