Journal profile · Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Genetics
GENOME BIOLOGY
ISSN 1474-760X · BioMed Central · ENGLAND · Founded 2000
GENOME BIOLOGY: CAS Zone 1 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 9.17; fully open access; APC about USD 5,690; median 279 days to acceptance (118 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 452 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
GENOME BIOLOGY is published by BioMed Central and is in Zone 1 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Genomics and Phylogenetic Studies, Genomics and Chromatin Dynamics and RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms, together about 25% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Genome Biology covers all areas of biology and biomedicine studied from a genomic and post-genomic perspective. Content includes research, new methods and software tools, and reviews. Areas covered include, but are not limited to: sequence analysis; bioinformatics; insights into molecular, cellular and organismal biology; functional genomics; epigenomics; population genomics; proteomics; comparative biology and evolution; systems and network biology; genome editing and engineering; genomics of disease; and clinical genomics. All content is open access immediately on publication.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology-Genetics
Editor-in-chief Veronique van den BerghePublisher website
Editorial board by country: 42 in mainland China (about 19%); most named United States 93, Mainland China 42, United Kingdom 31, Germany 13, Australia 7 (225 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology9.5%
- Genomics and Chromatin DynamicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.8%
- RNA and protein synthesis mechanismsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.8%
- Single-cell and spatial transcriptomicsBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.2%
- RNA Research and SplicingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.8%
- Chromosomal and Genetic VariationsAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.5%
- Gene expression and cancer classificationBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.4%
- Bioinformatics and Genomic NetworksBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology5.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Genetics & Heredity | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 9.17LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 9.2Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 13.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 14.5LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 5.79LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.46LetPub ·
- h-index
- 198LetPub ·
- h-index
- 403OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 5,353OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 9.62OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 425LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 10,300,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 9,183 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 381 | 381 | 411 |
| 2025 | 452 | 452 | 3,478 |
| 2024 | 325 | 325 | 7,248 |
| 2023 | 296 | 296 | 11,260 |
| 2022 | 271 | 271 | 17,999 |
| 2021 | 352 | 352 | 29,698 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
279 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 202 days – 370 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (118 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 290 days
- Sample
- 118 articles with submission and acceptance dates (894 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 14 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | EUR 4,690 / USD 5,690 / GBP 3,790 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 5,490 / EUR 4,490 / GBP 3,690 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 4,290 / USD 5,290 / GBP 3,590 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | GBP 3,790 / USD 5,690 / EUR 4,690 / GBP 2,850 / USD 4,280 / EUR 3,520 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Open calls for papers3, by deadline
Publisher websiteArticle types accepted8
- brief reportBrief reportLength not stated
- correspondenceCorrespondenceLength not stated
- databaseDatabaseLength not stated
- matters arisingMatters ArisingLength not stated
- methodologyMethodologyLength not stated
- researchResearchLength not stated
- reviewReviewLength not stated
- softwareSoftwareLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteData availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- Data availability Formatting the 'Availability of data and materials' section of your manuscript
Data availability strongly encouraged or required; deposit in public repositories or present in paper/supporting files. Model summary
The following format for the 'Availability of data and materials section of your manuscript should be used:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Licensing and copyright
Open access under CC BY-NC-ND or CC BY licence. Model summary
Creative Commons licences Open access articles in Springer Nature journals are published under Creative Commons licences. These provide an industry-standard framework to support easy re-use of open access material. Under Creative Commons licences, authors retain copyright of their articles. Genome Biology articles are published open access under a CC BY-NC-ND (Creative Commons Attribution Non-Comm…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Benefits of open access
Publishing open access (OA) offers a number of benefits, including greater reach and readership for your work: Cited more 1.6x more citations of OA articles than non-OA articles across all subjects Downloaded more 4x more downloads of OA articles than non-OA articles Greater impact 2.5x more Altmetric attention. OA articles attracted 1.9x more news mentions and 1.2x more policy mentions Open acces…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review policy
Peer review is the process used to evaluate the quality of a manuscript before publication. Independent researchers in the relevant field assess submitted manuscripts to check their validity and robustness. Their feedback guides editors in making publication decisions. Typically, two or more experts evaluate each manuscript based on three main criteria: scientific robustness: is the research metho…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- BioMed Central
- Country or region
- ENGLAND
- Language
- English
- Founded
- 2000
- ISSN
- 1474-760X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about GENOME BIOLOGY
What CAS zone is GENOME BIOLOGY in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, GENOME BIOLOGY is in Zone 1 of Biology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Genetics & Heredity; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of GENOME BIOLOGY?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 9.17; CiteScore 14.5, h-index 403.
How long does peer review take at GENOME BIOLOGY?
Based on the dates recorded on 118 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 279 days (interquartile range 202–370 days); authors report an average review time of about 14 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of GENOME BIOLOGY based?
Of the 225 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 42 (about 19%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (93), Mainland China (42) and United Kingdom (31). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index GENOME BIOLOGY?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, GENOME BIOLOGY is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, Embase, CAS and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is GENOME BIOLOGY open access, and what is the APC?
GENOME BIOLOGY is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 5,690.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .