At a recent meeting of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Chemical Ecology, the decision was made to compile information and guidelines for authors whose chemical ecological papers contain a considerable molecular component. Previously, The Journal published two other sets of guidelines: one for the Identification and Syntheses of Compounds (August 2008—JCE 34:984–986); and another for SPME Techniques (December, 2009—JCE 35:1383).

The following guidelines were prepared by Associate Editor Steven J. Seybold with critical assistance from an ad hoc committee of Editorial Board Members and contributors that included Jonathan Gershenzon (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena), Dezene Huber (University of Northern British Columbia), Patricia Nagnan-Le Meillour (INRA, Université de Lille), Julien Pelletier (University of California, Davis), Erika Plettner and Carlos Castillo (Simon Fraser University), Ada Rafaeli (The Volcani Center, Bet Dagan), Claus Tittiger (University of Nevada), and Linda Walling (University of California, Riverside).

The intent of these new “molecular” guidelines is not to daunt or discourage authors from submitting molecular work. Indeed, much of the information provided here is well-known to molecular contributors. The guidelines in this respect simply bring together useful information that can serve as a quick reference. For others, however, they should be useful for determining appropriateness of content of submission as well as accepted methods of presentation. Researchers should use them as they prepare submissions to The Journal.

John T. Romeo

December, 2010