Journal profile · MICROBIOLOGY
MicrobiologyOpen
ISSN 2045-8827 · John Wiley and Sons Inc. · UNITED STATES
MicrobiologyOpen: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.55; fully open access; APC about USD 3,720; median 145 days to acceptance (110 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 37% (journal website); 183 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
MicrobiologyOpen is published by John Wiley and Sons Inc. and is in Zone 3 of Biology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology, Gut microbiota and health and Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing, together about 29.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Molecular Biology. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
MicrobiologyOpen is an interdisciplinary, broad-scope journal delivering rapid decisions and fast publication of microbial science and biotech — fields that are undergoing a profound and exciting evolution in this post-genomic era. The journal aims to serve the research community by providing a vehicle for authors wishing to publish articles that stimulate discussion and debate, as well as add to our knowledge base and further our understanding of microbial interactions and microbial processes. We will consider submissions across unicellular and cell-cluster organisms — prokaryotes (bacteria, archaea) and eukaryotes (fungi, protists, microalgae, lichens), as well as viruses and prions, infecting or interacting with microorganisms, plants, and animals. MicrobiologyOpen welcomes manuscripts on all aspects of fundamental and applied microbiology, including: antimicrobial resistance astrobiology biochemistry, biophysics, and structural biology cellular and molecular biology clinical microbiology and infectious diseases computational, systems, and synthetic biology environmental science evolutionary biology, ecology, and systematics food microbiology genetics and genomics geobiology and earth science host-microbe interactions immune response and microbial pathogenesis microbial physiology and metabolism natural products discovery pharmaceutical and medicinal chemistry plant pathology veterinary microbiology The journal features Original Articles (including full research articles, method articles, and short communications), Commentaries (including brief reports), Reviews, and Editorials. Original papers must report well-conducted research with conclusions supported by the data presented in the article. We also support confirmatory research and aim to work with authors to meet reviewer expectations. Our submission process is easy and format-free.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): MICROBIOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Christopher RodriguesPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 3%); most named United Kingdom 6, United States 4, Spain 3, Germany 2, France 2 (29 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Microbial Community Ecology and PhysiologyEnvironmental Science13.2%
- Gut microbiota and healthBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology8.8%
- Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensingBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7.1%
- Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology7%
- Genomics and Phylogenetic StudiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.6%
- Antibiotic Resistance in BacteriaBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6.3%
- Bacteriophages and microbial interactionsEnvironmental Science5.9%
- Vibrio bacteria research studiesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Microbiology | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceMEDLINEPMCPubMedEmbaseCASCAB AbstractsPublisher 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
- 3.55LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 5.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.08LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- h-index
- 26LetPub ·
- h-index
- 84OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,019OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.87OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 2.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 164LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 166Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 430,752Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,887 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 217 | 217 | 83 |
| 2025 | 183 | 183 | 447 |
| 2024 | 61 | 61 | 333 |
| 2023 | 58 | 58 | 432 |
| 2022 | 89 | 89 | 1,812 |
| 2021 | 102 | 102 | 1,978 |
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
145 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 99 days – 199 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 14 days (115 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 162 days
- Sample
- 110 articles with submission and acceptance dates (395 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 20 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 37%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 158 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 20 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Unspecified 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 | USD 3,720 / GBP 2,240 / EUR 2,800 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,540 / EUR 2,660 / GBP 2,240 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 3,210 / GBP 2,030 / EUR 2,410 | Yes | — | |
| 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 prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Graphical abstract
- Required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted3
- commentariesCOMMENTARIES (including brief reports, perspectives, research highlights)Length not stated
- original articlesORIGINAL ARTICLES (research articles, method articles, systematic reviews, meta-analyses)Length not stated
- reviewsREVIEWS (literature review articles)Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review, Preprints
- Peer review Peer-Review Policy
MicrobiologyOpen maintains the highest standards of peer review while increasing the efficiency of the process. All contributions published in the journal will undergo full peer review, key characteristics of which are: MicrobiologyOpen considers scientifically valid articles. Manuscripts submitted to MicrobiologyOpen are initially assessed by our experienced editorial team, and those found approp…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
A preprint is a version of a paper ready to be submitted, and it is posted to receive comments from the community. MicrobiologyOpen will consider for review articles previously posted as preprints on any preprint server, such as arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, ChemRxiv. MicrobiologyOpen accepts the citation of preprints in journal submissions. Preprints can be posted prior or in parallel to submission to…
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
- John Wiley and Sons Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2045-8827
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- 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 MicrobiologyOpen
What CAS zone is MicrobiologyOpen in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, MicrobiologyOpen is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Microbiology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Biology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of MicrobiologyOpen?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.55; CiteScore 5.1, h-index 84.
How long does peer review take at MicrobiologyOpen?
Based on the dates recorded on 110 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 145 days (interquartile range 99–199 days); authors report an average review time of about 20 weeks; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 37% (2025). 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 are the manuscript requirements of MicrobiologyOpen?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Graphical abstract: Required; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of MicrobiologyOpen based?
Of the 29 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 3%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (6), United States (4) and Spain (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index MicrobiologyOpen?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, MicrobiologyOpen is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, MEDLINE, PMC, PubMed, Embase, CAS and CAB Abstracts; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is MicrobiologyOpen open access, and what is the APC?
MicrobiologyOpen is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,720.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .