Scope
Reproduction, Fertility and Development is an international journal for the publication of original and significant contributions to the field of reproductive biology in vertebrate animals, including humans, livestock and wildlife (as well as pest animals).
Reproduction, Fertility and Development publishes high quality original contributions, reviews, viewpoints, and technical reports. Subject areas include, but are not limited to:
- behaviour
- biochemistry
- cellular and molecular biology
- developmental biology
- genetics and epigenetics
- immunology and endocrinology
- human reproduction
- physiology
- plant secondary compounds
- toxicology and endocrine disruptors
Wildlife: rather than simply extending familiar biology to a new species, work must show how the species studied adds new perspectives to our general understanding of reproductive biology.
Reproductive technology: our readers are interested in novel developments, but rarely in purely clinical application of artificial reproductive technology. Again, it is important that authors show how their studies add new perspectives to our general understanding of reproductive biology. On the other hand, we do publish brief Technical Reports in which the focus is on advances in methodology or the workflow.
Environmental influences on reproduction: we are interested in the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), but rarely in the effects of uncharacterised mixes of chemicals, such as plant extracts, unless the active ingredient is fully defined or the mechanism of action is provided. Authors must show how their studies add new perspectives to our general understanding of reproductive biology.
Molecular genetics: the journal rarely accepts manuscripts based on a correlation between a polymorphism in a specific 'candidate' gene and an aspect of reproductive function. The correlation alone is not sufficient to advance our understanding of the processes because it does not strongly link cause and effect; at best, it is a hypothesis and needs to be supported by functional studies. Results from most candidate gene studies cannot be replicated, often because there is insufficient experimental power or appropriate statistical analysis, leading to false-positive results. Moreover, single genes very rarely reflect the real control systems, most of which involve many genes, as advances in bioinformatics and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have clearly demonstrated. For a deeper analysis of this perspective, go to: Montgomery (2020). Commentary: lessons from molecular genetic studies on reporting false-positive results. Reproduction, Fertility and Development 32, 1298-1300. Doi: 10.1071/RD20281
