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Introduction
The purpose of Saline Systems is to meet the publication requirements of scientists studying every facet of saline environments. The molecular biology, genetics, and ecology of halotolerant and halophilic organisms living in saline environments are rapidly advancing, which makes the journal relevant [1,2]. High-throughput technologies like DNA microarrays, proteomics, and genome sequencing are starting to completely change how we think about these intricate systems. The entire genomes of numerous halophilic organisms have already been sequenced, and a number of them have undergone thorough transcriptome, reverse genetic, and bioinformatic investigations. Additional information about the great metabolic and ecological diversity of saline ecosystems is being provided by metagenomic and metaproteomic research.
Much of the world’s biodiversity is found in saline conditions, including as inland and coastal ecosystems. These are a significant source of food for people thanks to aquaculture and commercial fishing. Approximately 3 billion people reside close to coastal towns, and as a result of growing populations and development, ecosystems essential to biodiversity are being deteriorated, endangering the long-term health of coastal economies [3]. Arable areas are becoming more and more strained by high salinity, and estuarine and coastal wetlands are vanishing at a startling rate [4]. Protecting both biodiversity and economic vitality requires a better knowledge of these habitats. More effective communication between scientists at all levels is necessary to overcome these issues.
SALINE SYSTEMS COMBINING SYSTEMS BIOLOGY WITH SALINE SURROUNDINGS Enhancing communication between and among scientists interested in saline environments is the journal’s main goal. The goal of integration is to promote a fuller comprehension of these crucial global ecosystems, the halophilic and halotolerant creatures that live there, and the underlying fundamental processes that underlie them. The characteristic of the systems biology approach is the integration of knowledge at different levels. This method lays the groundwork for predictive modeling of systems and allows data from interdisciplinary disciplines, including genetics and genomics, physiology and biochemistry, ecology, and environmental biology, to be taken into account together. Both coastal and inland areas, including natural lakes, marshes, springs, lagoons, and estuaries, as well as solar panes and other evaporitic and arid habitats, are of concern to saline systems.
They also have a variety of micro- and macroflora and fauna. Particular methods and research topics of interest include: (1) the environmental DasSarma Shiladitya biology, molecular biology, and genomics of halophilic and halotolerant organisms; (2) salt lake limnology, including trophic and ecosystem dynamics, biogeochemical cycling, microbial ecology, and paleolimnology; (3) saline environment biodiversity, conservation, and resource management; and (4) biotechnological uses of saline environments, such as aquaculture. The editorial board of Saline Systems is knowledgeable in every aspect of the publication. Experts in the chemistry and biology of saline environments, including general limnology and biogeography, nutrient cycling, ecological modeling, and biostatistics, as well as the biology, taxonomy, and phylogeny of halophilic archaea and bacteria, as well as the biology and ecology of halotolerant eukaryotes, such as algae, fungi, protists, invertebrates, and plants, as well as the biology of Artemia, crustaceans, fish, and waterbirds, as well as the genomics and postgenomics of saline environment micro- and macroflora and fauna, and aquatic conservation biology, are among the members of the editorial board.
THE OPEN ACCESS POLICY OF SALINE SYSTEMS High caliber publications covering every facet of fundamental and applied research on halophilic species and saline settings are published by the Open Access online journal Saline Systems. Research, book reviews, database articles, commentary, methodological papers, short reports, and reviews are just a few of the many kinds of articles that are publishedinthemagazine.Anonlinemanuscriptmanagement system is used to submit and peer-review articles for Saline Systems, and accepted articles are promptly published online. Every Open Access article’s whole text is permanently stored in online repositories apart from the journal, such as PubMed Central [5], the US National Library of Medicine’s repository of life scientific literature, in addition to the journal’s website.
As a result, every article published in Saline Systems is now widely available online. Consequently, everyone can read an author’s work for free. Furthermore, as long as the material is properly cited and free of errors, the writers retain copyright to their work and may allow anyone to reproduce and distribute it [6].The Open Access strategy of Saline Systems is very advantageous for both the public and science. Research findings are disseminated to the largest audience feasible by removing conventional barriers to accessing them. Authors are now allowed to distribute and replicate their work, for instance on the website of their university. Growingly potent web search engines make articles available to audiences outside of the traditional scientific community, which probably leads to more citations and a larger effect [7, 8].
The increasingly tight library budgets do not restrict access to publications published in Saline Systems. All citizens, not just those with subscriptions to libraries, can access research published in the journal. Crucially, as long as they have an internet connection, scientists from institutions and nations with limited resources [9], has access to Saline Systems papers. Our Open Access approach is probably going to help level the playing field and promote scientific advancement. Another significant rule of Saline Systems is that evaluations of manuscripts are made exclusively on the basis of their quality, not on the authors’ ability to cover the article processing fee. At the editors’ discretion, a portion of the papers published in Saline Systems will have their publishing fees waived.
The primary goal of journal policy is to promote science, and editors have no financial incentive or conflicting interest in articles published in the journal. We extend an invitation to the whole scientific community to help this crucial field succeed and its Open Access journal, Saline Systems.
References
- DasSarma S, Arora P: Halophiles. In Encyclopedia of Life Sciences Volume 8. London: Nature Publishing Group; 2002:458-466.
- Gunde-Cimerman N, Oren A, Plemenitas A, Eds: Adaptation to Life at High Salt Concentrations in Archaea, Bacteria, and Eukarya Dordrecht, Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2005 in press.
- Creel L: Ripple Effects: Population and Coastal Regions,. Measure Communication 2003 [http://www.prb.org/ pdf/ RippleEffects_Eng.pdf]. Washington: Population Reference Bureau
- Driessen P and Deckers J: Mineral Soils Conditioned by a (Semi-)Arid Climate. Lecture Notes on the Major Soils of the World 2001 [http://www.fao.org/documents/show_ cdr.asp?url_file=/DOCREP/003/Y1899E/Y1899E00.HTM]. World soil resources reports -94, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- PubMed Central [http://www.pubmedcentral.org]
- BioMed Central Open Access Charter [http://www biomed central.com/info/about/charter]
- Velterop J: Should scholarly societies embrace Open Access (or is it the kiss of death)? Learned Publishing 2003, 16:167-169.
- Lawrence S: Free online availability substantially increases a paper’s impact. Nature 2001, 411:521.
- Tan-Torres Edejer T: Disseminating health information in developing countries: the role of the internet. BMJ 2000, 321:797-800.
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