- Open access
- CC BY 4.0
- ISSN 2694-1198
Aims and Scope
The Journal of Genetic Engineering publishes research that designs, modifies, delivers and models genetic material, across seven connected areas from genome editing and synthetic biology to computational and mathematical genetics and biosafety.
What the journal sets out to do
- To publish rigorous research on how genes and genomes are designed, edited, delivered, expressed and analyzed.
- To advance the methods, tools and models on which genetic engineering depends, including computational and mathematical approaches.
- To report applications in medicine, agriculture, industry and the environment together with the biosafety, ethical and governance questions they raise.
- To make this research openly available, so that researchers, clinicians, practitioners and policymakers can read and reuse it freely.
Seven connected areas of genetic engineering
JGE considers research on any aspect of genetic engineering. The areas below are illustrative and form part of a wider field; work that advances genetic engineering in other ways is also welcome.
Genome editing
CRISPR-Cas systems, base and prime editing, TALENs and zinc finger nucleases, repair pathways, specificity and delivery.
Recombinant DNA
Cloning, vector design, DNA assembly, gene transfer and recombinant protein expression.
Synthetic biology
Gene circuits, biosensors, metabolic pathway engineering and minimal or synthetic genomes.
Gene therapy
Viral and non-viral delivery, ex vivo and in vivo approaches, engineered cells and RNA therapeutics.
Agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology
Engineered crops, animals and microorganisms for food, bioproduction and bioremediation.
Computational and mathematical genetics
Bioinformatics, design algorithms and quantitative models of genetic and population processes.
Biosafety, ethics and governance
Risk assessment, regulation, dual-use oversight and the societal questions genetic engineering raises.
What makes a manuscript a fit
Manuscripts are assessed for their relevance to genetic engineering, the soundness of their methods and whether their conclusions are proportionate to the evidence. Experimental, clinical, field, computational and theoretical studies are all considered.
Computational and mathematical work
Mathematical, statistical and simulation models of genetic and population processes, such as mutation, selection, migration and inbreeding, are welcome when they are described in enough detail to be evaluated and reproduced.
Applied and translational work
Studies of engineered organisms, gene-based therapeutics and bioproduction systems are considered with their experimental design, controls and safety assessment.
Biosafety, ethics and governance
Analyses of risk, regulation, oversight and the societal questions raised by genetic engineering are accepted when they present a reasoned argument supported by evidence and cited sources.
Article types
Guidance on the structure, abstract and reporting standard for each type is given in the Instructions for Authors.
- Original Research
- Review (including Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis)
- Methods and Protocols
- Short Communication
- Perspective or Commentary
- Letter
Editors confirm the classification of each manuscript. Where a manuscript sits between types, choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter.