Journal profile · Medicine-Microbiology (medical)
Gut Microbes
ISSN 1949-0976 · eISSN 1949-0984 · Landes Bioscience · United States
Gut Microbes: CAS Zone 1 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 15.35; JCR Q1 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 3,650; median 137 days to acceptance (118 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 15% (journal website); 402 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Gut Microbes is published by Landes Bioscience and is in Zone 1 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Gut microbiota and health, Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens research and Probiotics and Fermented Foods, together about 55.3% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The intestinal microbiota plays a pivotal role in human physiology. Characterizing its structure and function has implications for health and disease, impacting nutrition and obesity, brain function, allergic responses, immunity, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer development, cardiac disease, liver disease, and others. Gut Microbes provides a platform for presenting and discussing cutting-edge research on all aspects of microorganisms populating the intestine. The journal focuses in particular on mechanistic and cause and effect studies. Gut Microbes is also the official companion journal of Gut Microbes Reports , which has a greater focus on emerging topics and comparative and incremental studies. Gut Microbes is focused on publishing articles with a perceived level of interest, impact, originality or significance and that will lead to developments within the field. The journal does not consider negative or confirmatory results or null studies. Gut Microbes does not consider Mendelian Randomization studies, public database or database mining studies, bibliometric studies, Traditional Chinese Medicine studies, or in silico studies. Authors of bioinformatic or -omics studies are encouraged to submit to our sister journal Gut Microbes Report s instead. Gut Microbes brings together a multidisciplinary community of scientists working in the areas of: Profiling the intestinal microbiota Gastrointestinal disease: mechanisms, host defense, diagnosis, epidemiology Host-pathogen interactions including enteric disease and bacterial pathogenesis Quorum sensing and toxicity Probiotics and prebiotics Novel treatments and clinical trials Role of intestinal microbiota in health and disease Gut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Reports, and Editorials (Editors and Guest Advisors only) for publication. *Please note that Gut Microbes converted to a fully open access journal beginning with Volume 12 (2020). The Print ISSN is not in active use as this journal is no longer published in print. Updated 9th July 2026.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Microbiology (medical)
Editor-in-chief Beth McCormickPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United Kingdom 6, United States 5, Mainland China 2, France 1, Denmark 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Gut microbiota and healthBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology35.3%
- Clostridium difficile and Clostridium perfringens researchMedicine12%
- Probiotics and Fermented FoodsAgricultural and Biological Sciences8%
- Diet and metabolism studiesMedicine6.3%
- Gastrointestinal motility and disordersMedicine4.9%
- Helicobacter pylori-related gastroenterology studiesMedicine3.8%
- Infant Nutrition and HealthNursing2.9%
- Viral gastroenteritis research and epidemiologyMedicine2.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Gastroenterology & Hepatology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
MEDLINEPubMedEmbasePublisher website
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
- 15.35LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 15.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 16.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 19.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 19.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 4.11LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 4.11Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.4LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 2.4Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 174OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 2,043OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 16.88OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 396LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 4100000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,776 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 321 | 321 | 609 |
| 2025 | 402 | 402 | 5,730 |
| 2024 | 400 | 400 | 12,613 |
| 2023 | 307 | 307 | 14,495 |
| 2022 | 230 | 230 | 13,754 |
| 2021 | 215 | 215 | 21,363 |
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
137 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 99 days – 186 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 12 days (118 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 152 days
- Sample
- 118 articles with submission and acceptance dates (838 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 10 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 15%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 43 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 11 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 10 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 | AUD 5,085 / EUR 3,505 / GBP 2,920 / USD 3,650 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC | |
| OpenAlex | GBP 2,495 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
What to prepare1 items from the author guidelines
- Not considered
- negative or confirmatory results; null studies; Mendelian Randomization studies; public database or database mining studies; bibliometric studies; Traditional Chinese Medicine studies; in silico studies
Article types accepted7
- article commentaries (including creative commentaries)Gut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- data notesGut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- editorials (editors and guest advisors only)Gut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- meeting reportsGut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- rapid communicationsGut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- research articlesGut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
- review articlesGut Microbes accepts Research Articles, Review Articles, Rapid Communications, Data Notes, Article Commentaries (including Creative Commentaries), Meeting Repor…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Open access journal Model summary
Gut Microbes is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readership of your article Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Negative or confirmatory results or null studies not considered Model summary
The journal does not consider negative or confirmatory results or null studies.
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
- Landes Bioscience
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1949-0976
- Electronic ISSN
- 1949-0984
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 18, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Gut Microbes
What CAS zone is Gut Microbes in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Gut Microbes is in Zone 1 of Medicine, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Microbiology / Gastroenterology & Hepatology; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Gut Microbes?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 15.35; CiteScore 19.5, h-index 174.
How long does peer review take at Gut Microbes?
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 137 days (interquartile range 99–186 days); authors report an average review time of about 10 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 15%. 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.
What JCR quartile is Gut Microbes in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 1 of Medicine.
Where are the editorial board members of Gut Microbes based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (6), United States (5) and Mainland China (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Gut Microbes?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Gut Microbes is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists MEDLINE, PubMed and Embase; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Gut Microbes open access, and what is the APC?
Gut Microbes is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .