Journal profile · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
ISSN 0894-0282 · eISSN 1943-7706 · American Phytopathological Society · UNITED STATES · Monthly · Founded 1988
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions: CAS Zone 3 · Biology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.81; fully open access; APC about USD 3,000; review about 3 months (community reports); community-reported acceptance: fairly hard; 99 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions is published by American Phytopathological Society 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 Plant-Microbe Interactions and Immunity, Legume Nitrogen Fixing Symbiosis and Plant Pathogenic Bacteria Studies, together about 46.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Plant Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
MPMI publishes cutting-edge research that investigates the molecular mechanisms of plant interactions with other organisms including pathogens, pests, and beneficial microbes. The journal communicates novel findings that significantly advance our molecular and cellular understanding of these interactions. MPMI will consider manuscripts addressing: Molecular and cell biological analysis of relevant factors involving the plant-associated organism or the plant alone, or molecular analysis of components that affect or modulate plant–microbe interaction. Genetic analysis (fundamental or applied) that advances knowledge of plant and/or plant-associated organism interactions. Molecular evolution and molecular ecology of interactions between plants and other organisms. Comparative genomics of organisms associated with a plant–microbe interaction. Molecular aspects of symbiotic and associative relationships with plants. Spatial and temporal analyses of the cell biology of plant–microbe interactions, including studies focused on light and/or electron microscopy. Technical advances (methodological) that report important novel advances in technology for studying the molecular aspects of plant–microbe interactions mentioned above.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Editor-in-chief Richard A. WilsonPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Taiwan, China 2, United States 2, United Kingdom 1, India 1, Canada 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Plant-Microbe Interactions and ImmunityAgricultural and Biological Sciences21.5%
- Legume Nitrogen Fixing SymbiosisAgricultural and Biological Sciences14.3%
- Plant Pathogenic Bacteria StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences10.5%
- Plant Virus Research StudiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.9%
- Plant Pathogens and Fungal DiseasesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology6%
- Plant Disease Resistance and GeneticsAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.7%
- Plant nutrient uptake and metabolismAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Nematode management and characterization studiesAgricultural and Biological Sciences2.9%
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 | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Biology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | 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 | Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Biochemistry & Molecular Biology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Plant Sciences | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 3.81LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.24LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.02LetPub ·
- h-index
- 137LetPub ·
- h-index
- 224OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,061OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.58OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 97.98%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 87LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,917 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 59 | 59 | 29 |
| 2025 | 99 | 99 | 263 |
| 2024 | 87 | 87 | 584 |
| 2023 | 111 | 111 | 1,245 |
| 2022 | 132 | 132 | 1,559 |
| 2021 | 159 | 159 | 3,148 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 3 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly hardLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 4 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 | USD 3,000 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND, CC0 | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,000 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 215 / USD 3,245 / USD 3,465 / USD 135 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- 90
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted1
- editorialManuscripts will be assigned to an appropriate senior editor by the editor-in-chief. Authors will be notified of this assignment by e-mail. Authors are required…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, License & copyright, Open access, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLM)
The use of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) assisted technology to improve grammar, language, and writing is permitted if the resulting content remains representative of the author’s own original work and does not generate new concepts, results, or perceptions within the manuscript. When using Large Language Models (LLM), or similar generative AI tools such as Open AI ChatGPT, authors must ensure t…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright MPMI®, Phytobiomes Journal, and PhytoFrontiers® License Options
Authors have the choice of the following Copyright/License Options: CC BY-NC-ND: This creative commons license allows others to download your works and share them with others as long as they credit the source, but they can’t change them in any way or use them commercially. CC BY: This license lets others distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access
APS supports open access and offers authors a choice of options shown below. Some article types are made freely available without any additional fees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism Plagiarism
APS does not tolerate plagiarism and will implement a two-year submission ban on authors found guilty. Plagiarism is commonly defined as “the representation of the words or ideas of another as one's own in any academic work” (Rutgers University, Academic Integrity Policy, Section 2C). In scientific writing and publishing, plagiarism most often occurs when ideas or key phrases are taken from a lite…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints and Advance Communications
Authors are allowed to present and discuss their findings ahead of publication at scientific conferences, on preprint servers (such as arXiv, biorxiv, or PeerJ preprints among others), in public databases, or blogs, wikis, tweets, and other informal communication channels. This prior disclosure does not constitute prior publication. When submitting a manuscript for review, authors need to disclose…
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
- American Phytopathological Society
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Founded
- 1988
- ISSN
- 0894-0282
- Electronic ISSN
- 1943-7706
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 39, Issue 3 (June 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- 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 Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
What CAS zone is Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions is in Zone 3 of Biology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Biochemistry & Molecular Biology / Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology / Plant Sciences. 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 Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.81; CiteScore 7.3, h-index 224.
How long does peer review take at Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions?
Authors report an average review time of about 3 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly hard”. 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 Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not 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 Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions based?
Of the 8 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Taiwan, China (2), United States (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions open access, and what is the APC?
Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,000.
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 2026-08-24). Last updated: .