• Author Submission

Manuscripts are submitted to the journal by the corresponding or submitting author. This pivotal step marks the beginning of the evaluation process.

• Initial Review

Our journal's editor initiates the evaluation process by conducting an initial review of your submission. This review involves several key aspects:

❃ Alignment with Journal Scope

We ensure that your manuscript aligns with the aims & scope of the journal.

❃ Adherence to Submission Guidelines

We verify that your submission follows the author guidelines, including formatting, structure, and other essential requirements.

❃ Similarity Check

We perform a similarity check to ensure originality and prevent plagiarism.

After the initial editorial check, your submission may (1) proceed to peer review, (2) be returned for minor revisions to address formatting or missing information, or (3) be declined if deemed unsuitable for the journal. In the case of a desk rejection, authors may revise and resubmit or consider submitting elsewhere.

• Peer Review Process

Once a manuscript passes the initial editorial check, the editorial team invites  qualified reviewers in the relevant field. Each submission is typically evaluated by  at least two independent reviewers. If a reviewer declines, alternative experts  may be invited.

Reviewers assess the manuscript for originality, methodology, clarity, significance, and ethical compliance. The review process usually takes 2–8 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and manuscript complexity. Authors can track progress via the submission system.

❃ Upon review completion, reviewers provide one of the following recommendations:

Accept without changes

Accept with minor revisions

Consider after major revisions

Revise and resubmit

Reject

The editor evaluates the reviewer comments and makes a final decision. In cases of conflicting reviews, additional reviewers may be consulted to ensure a fair and balanced assessment.

• Author Revisions

After the peer review process, the editor will notify the corresponding author of the editorial decision via email, along with reviewer comments. Depending on the journal’s review model, reviewer identities may or may not be disclosed.

If the decision is “Accept with minor revisions” or “Consider after major revisions”, authors are expected to revise the manuscript and provide a detailed response to all comments. Multiple rounds of revision may be required before a final decision is made. If critical concerns remain unresolved, the manuscript may still be rejected.

In the case of a “Revise and resubmit” outcome, the revised manuscript may undergo a new round of peer review, either by the original reviewers or new experts, to ensure all major issues have been properly addressed.

• Editorial Final Decision

After receiving the revised manuscript, the editor evaluates the authors' responses and the revised version. Based on the reviewers' recommendations and their own assessment, the editor makes a final decision on acceptance.

• Production

❃ Just Accepted

Accepted papers will be posted online prior to technical editing, formatting for publication, and author proofing as “Just Accepted” papers. This is intended to expedite publication and increase the impact of accepted papers. Just accepted papers will be accessible and citable with a Digital Object Identifier (DOI®).

❃ Proof reading

The purpose of the proof is to check for typesetting errors and the completeness and accuracy of the text, tables, and figures. Authors will have chance to double check symbols, formulas, and figure legends before final publication, for these may accidentally have been changed during typesetting. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected values, title, and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the Editors-in-Chief. After online publication, further changes can only be made in the form of an Erratum, which will be hyperlinked to the article.

❃ Online first

The article will be published online after receipt of the corrected proofs. This is the official first publication citable with the DOI. After release of the printed version, the paper can also be cited by issue and page numbers.

❃ Open Access Licence Agreement

All articles in ifungi will be published on an Open-Access model. Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete an 'Open Access Licence Agreement', which will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws.

❃ Article Processing Charge

Authors are required to pay Article Processing Charge (APC) if the manuscript was submitted.

• Sharing and Promotion

Published articles are disseminated to a broad audience, and authors are encouraged to actively share their research within the scientific community.

• Text formatting

For submission in Microsoft Word, use a normal, plain font (e.g., 12-point Times New Roman), one space line, and two columns for text. Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages. Do not use field functions. Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar. Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables. Use the equation editor or MathType for equations. Note: If you use Word 2007, do not create the equations with the default equation editor but use MathType instead.

• Detailed Formatting Instructions

Please follow this order to type the manuscript: cover letter (optional), title page, highlight of paper (3 items) and running title (mandatory), abstract, keywords, main text (including tables and figures), appendix (if necessary), acknowledgements, declaration of competing interest, author contributions (mandatory), references, author biography (optional), graphical abstract (optional) and electronic supplementary material (if necessary).

• Cover letter (optional)

Submissions could include a cover letter that includes a convincing statement of the novelty and significance of the work and the relevance to the aims and scope of iFungi. This statement should not be a duplicate of the submission’s abstract.

• Title page

The title page should include:

❃ A concise and informative title: Title should be succinct, objective, interesting and grammatically correct. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

❃ Author names and affiliations: Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name.

 Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

*Changes to the author list between initial submission and revision must be accompanied by an explanatory statement in the cover letter for the revision and a completed "Change in Authorship Request" form, which will be sent by the Journal Editorial Office. These changes will be accepted at the discretion of the Editor and may lead to rejection of the manuscript. Changes of authorship or the order of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.

❃ Highlights: Highlights are three bullet points that help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. These bullet points should capture the novel results of your research as well as new methods that were used during the study (if any).

❃ Running title: A concise version of the main title of the article, no more than 10 words long.

• Abstract and keywords

A concise and factual abstract is needed for regular research articles and review articles to state the main purpose and research questions of the study, the methods, the main results, and the key conclusions. Abstract should be 120–250 words in length. No footnotes, references, figures, or tables may appear in the abstract.

Immediately after the abstract, please provide 4–6 keywords, which can be used for indexing purpose.

• Main body

❃ Manuscripts describing original research typically include the following sections: Introduction; Methods; Results and discussion; Conclusions. In submissions that have a significant theoretical or mathematical component, a section for the description of the analytical procedures may be required.

❃ Heading/section levels (numbered). For regular research articles and review articles, please use the decimal system of headings. Please divide the article into clearly defined and consecutively numbered sections and subsections. Sections should be numbered 1, 2, etc. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, …), 1.2, etc. Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to “the text”. Each section and subsection should be given a brief heading and each heading should appear on its own separate line. Review article should begin with an Introduction section and end with a Conclusions or Summary section.

❃ Abbreviations. Abbreviations should be defined at the point of first use and be used consistently thereafter. Abbreviations defined in the Abstract should be re-defined in the main text of the submission.

❃ Footnotes. Essential footnotes to the text should be numbered consecutively and placed at the bottom of the page to which they refer. Footnotes to the table should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks) and placed immediately below the table.

❃ Units. Please follow internationally accepted rules and conventions such as those defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). If other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in supplementary information.

❃ Formulae and symbols. Formulae, symbols, and all subscripts, superscripts, Greek letters, and other characters must be legible and carefully checked. Standard mathematical notation should be used. All symbols used in manuscript must be explained. If necessary, a list of symbols may be provided and placed at the end of the Main body.

❃ Equations. Numbering consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text), and referring the equation with Eq. (1), Eq. (2) … in the text. For the simple formulae which appear in the line of normal text, please use solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., x/y. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by “exp”. In principle, variables should be presented in italics.

❃ Figures. All the figures, including data plots, photographs, diagrammatic sketches, flow charts, etc., should be embedded, approximately in their final sizes, in the main text near the paragraph in which they are first referenced, not on separate page(s) at the end. All figures should be numbered using Arab numerals (figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters) and supplied with a figure caption. Please make sure that all elements found in the figure are identified in the caption. Figures should always be cited in text, such as Fig. 1, Fig. 2 … in consecutive numerical order. Color figures will remain in color in both the printed version and the online version of the journal, at no cost. The authors are encouraged to use color figures in the submitted manuscript. 

Figures should be sized to fit the page layout: no wider than 80 mm (single-column) or 170 mm (double-column), and no taller than 230 mm. Use high resolution: ≥300 dpi for halftones (photos, micrographs) and ≥1200 dpi for line art. Combine multipart figures into a single file and name them as “Fig1.tif”, “Fig2.jpg”, etc. Use consistent 8–12 pt fonts, avoid shading or embedded titles, and label axes with units in parentheses. Use scale bars instead of magnification indicators. Do not submit Excel plots or screenshots from instruments, replot in proper software.

❃ Tables. All tables should be numbered using Arab numerals and supplied with a table title which explains clearly and concisely the components of the table. Tables should not duplicate results presented elsewhere in the manuscript (for example, in figures). Tables should always be cited in the text, such as Table 1, Table 2 … in consecutive numerical order.

❃ Acknowledgements. The content of Acknowledgments is a list of people who contributed to the work in the manuscript but are not named in the author list, and a list of funding sources that supported the research presented. The names of funding organizations should be written in full. Do not include acknowledgements on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise.

❃ Declaration of competing interest. Authors are required to disclose financial or non-financial interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Authors should complete the declaration of competing interest statement in the submitted manuscript even if there are no interests to declare. If no conflict exists, the authors should state:

“The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article”.

❃ Citations & references. References to the literature are cited by number in square brackets at appropriate locations (before a period, comma, etc.) in the text. Some examples are given below:

(1) There are several different methods, such as chemical precipitation [1], hydrothermal [2–4], sol–gel [2, 5, 6], and mechanochemical methods [7, 8].

(2) This phenomenon was originally observed by John and Williams [1] in 1980.

(3) This effect has been widely studied [1–3, 7].

Please note that a submission may be rejected directly without review if the reference list does not meet the following guidelines.

All literature citations should be compiled in a numbered reference list at the end of the manuscript text (but before the Appendices), in the order of their first citation in the text. Each numbered reference may contain only one literature citation. The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Papers just accepted for publication are cited by the DOI. Always use the standard abbreviation of a journal’s name according to the ISSN List of Title World Abbreviations (https://www.issn.org/services/online-services/access-to-the-ltwa/). Some examples:

(a) Journal publication

[1] Hubble, D.; Brown, D. E.; Zhao, Y. Z.; Fang, C.; Lau, J.; McCloskey, B. D.; Liu, G. Liquid electrolyte development for low-temperature lithium-ion batteries. Energy Environ. Sci. 2022, 15, 550–578.

(b) Journal publication with an article number

[2] Chen, W. Z.; Yi, X. F.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L. Heterometallic Mo–Ti oxo clusters with metal–metal bonds: Preparation and visible-light absorption behaviors. Polyoxometalates 2023, 2, 9140013.

(c)Book (authored)

[3] Lawn, B. R. Fracture of Brittle Solids. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 1993.

(d) Book chapter

[4] Craighead, H. G. Nanostructures in electronics. In: Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Properties and Applications. Edelstein, A, Cammatata, R, Eds. New York: Taylor and Francis, 1998: 565–566.

(e) Paper in proceedings

[5] Mahdavi, A.; Spasojevic, B. Incorporating simulation into building systems control logic. In Proceedings of the 10th International Building Performance Simulation Association Conference and Exhibition (BS2007), Beijing, China, 2007, pp 1175–1181.

(f) Thesis or Dissertation

[6] Chandrakanth, J. S. Effects of ozone on the colloidal stability of particles coated with natural organic matter. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA, 1994.

(g) Patent

[7] Sheem, S. K. Low-cost fiber optic pressure sensor. U.S. Patent 6,738,537, May 18, 2004.

(h) Article by DOI

[8] Slifka, M. K.; Whitton, J. L. Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. J. Mol. Med., in press, DOI: 10.1007/s001090000086.

(I) Online reference

[9]   Tour, J. M. Molecular Electronics: Commercial Insights, Chemistry, Devices, Architecture and Programming [Online]. World Scientific: River Edge, NJ, 2003; pp 177–180. http://legacy.netlibrary.com/ ebook_info.asp?product_id=91422&piclist=19799,20141,20153 (accessed Nov 7, 2004).

Do not use footnotes or endnotes as a substitute for a reference list.

• Appendix. An appendix, if needed, is presented without numbers. If there are two or more appendices, they should be numbered consecutively. Equations in appendices should be designated differently from those in the main body of the manuscript, e.g., (A1), (A2), etc. In each appendix equations should be numbered separately.

• Graphical abstract. The authors are required to supply one picture (at least 600 dpi, 5 cm × 8 cm, the ratio of height to length should be less than 1 and larger than 5/8) as graphical abstract with 1–2-sentence summary of the paper.

• If Electronic Supplementary Material (ESM) is submitted, it will be published as received from the authors without any conversion, editing, or reformatting. ESM are peer-reviewed materials directly relevant to the conclusions of a paper. Please note that the aims of ESM are only to provide additional, rather than necessary, supports for the conclusions of the paper. The authors are suggested to incorporate all the necessary information in the main text of the manuscript in order that the readers can understand the manuscript content easily and completely without the aid of the ESM. If supplying any ESM, the text must make specific mention of the material as a citation, similar to that of figures and tables (e.g., Fig. S1 in the ESM). Besides, a paragraph should be added before the “References” section (e.g., Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary material (add a brief description) is available in the online version of this article).

❃ Information that cannot be printed, such as animations, video clips, sound recordings, etc., should be supplied always as electronic files with MP4 format.

❃ Information that can be printed, such as text, figures, tables, etc., should be integrated into one electronic file with PDF format.