Aims and Scope
The African Journal of Bacteriology publishes articles that investigate the genotype, phenotype and taxonomy of bacteria and their roles in food spoilage, animal and plant diseases and vaccine production.
Types of Articles
The journal welcomes submission of full-length research articles, short communications and review articles. In addition, the journal also welcomes letters to the editor and commentaries.
Regular articles: These articles should describe new and carefully confirmed findings, and research methods should be given in sufficient detail for others to verify the work. The length of a full paper should be the minimum required to describe and interpret the work clearly.
Short Communications: A Short Communication is suitable for recording the results of complete small investigations or giving details of new models, innovative methods or techniques. The style of main sections need not conform to that of full-length papers. Short communications are 2 to 4 printed pages (about 6 to 12 manuscript pages) in length.
Reviews: Submissions of reviews and perspectives covering topics of current interest are welcome and encouraged. Reviews should be concise and no longer than 4-6 printed pages (about 12 to 18 manuscript pages). Reviews manuscripts are also peer-reviewed.
Reporting Guidelines
Responsible reporting of research studies, which includes a complete, transparent, accurate and timely account of what was done and what was found during a research study, is an integral part of good research and publication practice and not an optional extra.
JBR supports initiatives aimed at improving the reporting of health research. Authors should follow these guidelines when drafting their manuscripts.
Authors should endeavour to address all items recommended by the guidelines (as a minimum). Adherence to recommended reporting guidelines will increase the probability of manuscripts acceptance for publication.
The EQUATOR website provides a central repository of up-to-date reporting guidelines and other resources that assist authors to prepare a good research manuscript.
Preparing Your Manuscript
Before submission, ensure that the manuscript falls within the scope of the journal. All submissions must be written in good English. Poorly written submissions will be rejected at the point of submission. Manuscripts should be prepared in single-line spacing of not more than 25 pages. Headings, subheadings, sections and subsections should not be numbered. Major headings should be indicated in bold and block text (example - INTRODUCTION). Subheadings should be indicated in normal text and title case. The International System of Units (ISI) and other accepted conventions and nomenclature should be followed.
Title
The title phrase should be brief.
List authors’ full names (first-name, middle-name, and last-name).
Affiliations of authors (department and institution).
Emails and phone numbers.
Abstract
The abstract should be 100 to 200 words in length. The keywords should be less than 10.
Abbreviations
Standard abbreviations should be used all through the manuscript. The use of non-standard abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and must be well-defined in the text following their first use.
The Introduction
The statement of the problem should be stated in the introduction in a clear and concise manner.
Materials and methods
Materials and methods should be clearly presented to allow the reproduction of the experiments.
Results and discussion
Results and discussion maybe combined into a single section. Results and discussion may also be presented separately if necessary.
Tables and figures
Tables should be kept to a minimum.
Tables should have a short descriptive title.
The unit of measurement used in a table should be stated.
Tables should be numbered consecutively.
Tables should be organized in Microsoft Word or Excel spreadsheet.
Figures/Graphics should be prepared in GIF, TIFF, JPEG or PowerPoint.
Tables and Figures should be appropriately cited in the manuscript.
Disclosure of conflict of interest
Authors should disclose all financial/relevant interest that may have influenced the study.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgement of people, funds etc should be brief.
References
References should be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the paper. DOIs links to referenced articles should be stated wherever available. Names of journals should be presented in full and not abbreviated.
Examples:
Zhang J., Wang Y., Li J., Ma Y., Lin J., Xiao Z., & Yu D. (2016). Phenotypic and genotypic analysis of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci strains isolated from different water sources. African Journal of Bacteriology Research 8(2): 8-13. https://doi.org/10.5897/JBR2015.0162
Van Reenen CA, Dicks LM (2011). Horizontal gene transfer amongst probiotic lactic acid bacteria and other intestinal microbiota: What are the possibilities? A review. Archives of Microbiology 193:157-168 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00203-010-0668-3
Acceptance Certificate
Authors are issued an Acceptance Certificate for manuscripts that have been reviewed and accepted for publication by an editor.
Before Submission