To Notulae Scientia Biologicae

(Model)

Cover Letter

to Notulae Scientia Biologicae

Dear Editor,

on behalf of my co-authors, I would like to submit a manuscript entitled “Parameters of Inner Quality of the Apple Scab Resistant and Susceptible Apple Cultivars (Malus domestica Borkh.)” to be published in Notulae Scientia Biologicae journal.

(Highlights - a short collection or bullet points that convey the core findings of the article), eg: In the present study, several apple cultivars, resistant and susceptible to apple scab, were evaluated for fruits quality. The group of new resistant cultivars proved to be unsuitable for climatic conditions of the studied area. There were identified several cultivars with a better quality of fruits than the well-known cultivars. In addition, characteristics of other evaluated cultivars and their potential prospects for growing in new orchards are briefly presented…

Potential Reviewers

(Please add five reviewers for your article, with full contact data, which have expertise with the topic, compulsory from other countries than the authors’. They have to bequalified to provide an independent assessment of the work)

1. Dr. Jonathan JOHNSON, Michigan University, Horticulture Department, USA; Phone: 565.494.1329, Fax: 565-1924-0325;
2. Dr. Javier ARRONES, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain; Tel/Fax: +14 75579578;
3. …
4. …
5. Dr. Mario PAOLETTI, Bologna University, Italy, Tel/Fax: +4213224449;

In consideration of the publication, we hereby warrant and undertake:

1. This article is an original work and no portion of the study has been published or is under consideration for publication elsewhere.

2. None of the authors has any potential conflict of interest related to this manuscript.

3. All authors have contributed to the work, and they have agreed to submit the manuscript.

Your consideration of the manuscript would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely yours,

Authors,

(Please give full contact data for all co-authors; use capital letters for family name; include institutional data and e-mail for all co-authors; please see affiliation editing below)

Dr. Robert SMITH

University of Western Australia, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia;

Dr. Peter C. WILLIAMS (Corresponding author)

Curtin University of Technology, School of Public Health, Division of Health Sciences, Selby Street, WA 6008, Shenton Park, Australia;

Jennifer TOTH

University of Western Australia, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia;

Parameters of Inner Quality of the Apple Scab Resistant and Susceptible Apple Cultivars (Malus domestica Borkh.)

(Title is written bolded, every word in a title must be capitalized except for short minor words (transition words) such as “a”, “an”, “and”, “as”, “at”, “by”, “for”, “from”, “if”, “in”, “into”, “on”, “or”, “of”, “the”, “to”, “with” etc.)

Robert SMITH1, Peter C. WILLIAMS2*, Jennifer TOTH2…

The first name, middle initial and last name (surname, or family name with capital letters) of each author should appear

1University of Western Australia, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009, Perth, Australia;

2Curtin University of Technology, School of Public Health, Division of Health Sciences, Selby Street, WA 6008, Shenton Park, Australia; (*corresponding author);

(The affiliation should be provided in the following order: university/institution name, faculty/department name, city, country; email address of each co-author is obligatory. Please fill in all contact data (including e-mail address and capital editing of the family name, in the appropriate fields) when you submit online your article: ‘Step 3’ in the submission process - , ‘Enter metadata’. All data in ‘Enter metadata’ fields and the manuscript have to be similar, for all co-authors).

Abstract

Individual organic acids and sugars were analysed in the fruits of scab resistant and susceptible apple cultivars. The total sugars ranged between 128.2 and 191.6g/kg, and the total organic acid between… The abstract should be a concise, self-explanatory, including only information presented in the paper, one-paragraph summation of the findings, without citations, without abbreviations or footnotes. The abstract should count 200-250 words and have a structured form, e.g. reflect structure of an article (background, material and methods, results, conclusion). The paper will be written in an impersonal mode, past tense.

Keywords: breeding, genotypes, scab resistance…(Five to seven key words in alphabetical order separated with comma. Include all relevant scientific terms that are absent from the title and abstract)

Abbreviations: only when necessary, in alphabetical order.

Introduction

Carbohydrates, organic acids and phenolic compounds are parameters of a fruits quality and can be connected to other quality parameters such as its shape, colour and taste. The balance between organic acids and sugars is very important in achieving a harmonized taste for fruits (Hudina and Stampar, 2017; Dan et al., 2016)…

Harker et al. (2015), Chun (2016), Wolfe (2017) compared instrumental and sensory measurements of apple taste and flavour…

The phenolic composition of a plant tissue can determine the level of susceptibility/tolerance to fungal infections and pests (Usenik, 2016).

Treutter (2013) found that total flavanol content in the skin of scab resistant varieties was 3-fold higher than in susceptible varieties.

The most current research on antioxidant action focuses on phenolic compounds such as flavonoids. They are the most common compounds in fruits and vegetables and have a strong antioxidant capacity (Hertog et al., 2002; Powel and Davey, 2016)…Citations should be listed in chronological order in the text and be separated by a semi-colon, e.g. Davey and Pratt, 2014; Robson et al., 2015. Please edit ‘et al’ with italics (but not the mark and comma). Generally, every statement in introduction must be accomplished by a citation and the authors MUST give the background of the study; please use up to date references. The introduction summarizes the relevant literature so that the reader will understand the necessity of this study. The authors must explain why their study was necessary. At the end of the introduction the authors must explain the aim of the study.

Materials and Methods

Biological material

(Organize your presentation so that readers will understand the logical flow of the experiment(s); subheadings (italics, no bold) work well for this purpose, e.g. ‘Description of the study site’; ‘Biological material’; ‘Experimental OR sampling design’; ‘Experimental procedures OR Protocol for collecting data’; ‘Qualitative analysis AND/OR statistical procedures’ etc.).

The research has been carried out… For the experiment, fruits were taken from apple trees grafted on M9 rootstocks, growing at a location in Ljubljana (Central Slovenia). Ten trees of five scab resistant cultivars (‘Florina’, ‘Goldrush’, ‘Goldstar’, ‘Rubinola’ and ‘Topaz’) and four scab susceptible cultivars (‘Braeburn’, ‘Jonagold’, ‘Red Elstar’ and ‘Golden Delicious’) were used in the experiment. Twenty fruits were collected from each tree. Because of the favourable weather conditions for apple scab development, the susceptible cultivars were protected against this disease with fungicides, meanwhile the resistant cultivars were not sprayed. Without the spraying of susceptible cultivars, the damage from apple scab on the fruits would be severe and a comparison would be impossible… Give enough information to indicate how the research was conducted. Well-known tests or procedures should be cited, but not described in detail. Describe any controls and the statistical procedures. Methods should be detailed enough to permit replication of the work. Avoid names of brands or commercial products, instead state clearly the active ingredient, chemical formula or purity.

Authors should create headings that are brief, and relevant, to break “Materials and Methods” and “Results and Discussion” sections into parts which will guide readers through the main points of their articles.

Mathematical equations should be typewritten, with subscripts and superscripts clearly shown. The equation should be typed using the Times New Roman font and Symbols, with Formula Editing, e.g.:

Spell out numbers one to ten, unless a measurement (e.g. four flowers, 5 g), but use 14 plots, 65 leaves, etc. Always use decimal points, not commas (0.4 not 0,4) and have a zero before a decimal point (0.5 not .5). Separate thousands with a comma (1,542 not 1 542, 1.542 or 1542).

In vitro is spelled Italics.

Use standard SI units and abbreviations, respectively international system of dates (e.g.: s, min, h, d, µmol, m-2, µM, N, etc.), but use week, month, year, etc. in full text. Leave a space between a value and its unit(s) (eg: 5.6 g, 16 m, 18.6 °C).

The scientific denominations (genus, species etc.) will be typed in italics. Names of cultivars/varieties have to be included within single quotation ‘…’ (never double quotation marks) e.g. Malus domestica cv. ‘Golden Delicious’. Ranks above genus (e.g. family, order, class) receive one part names which are conventionally not written in italics.

Please note

-Use ‘.’ (not ‘,’) for decimal point: 0.6 ± 0.2; Use ‘,’ for thousands: 1,230.4.

-Use ‘-’ (not ‘–’) and without space: pp 27-36, 1998-2000, 4-6 min, 3-5 kg.

-Use spaces between value and measure unit/mathematical symbols: 5 h, 5 kg, 5 m, 5 °C, C : D = 0.6 ± 0.2;

p < 0.001.

-Without space: 55°, 5% (not 55 °, 5 %).

-Use ‘kg ha–1’ (not ‘kg/ha’).

-Use degree sign ‘°’, with space after the temperature value: 5 °C (not 5oC).

Results and Discussion (OR, preferably, ‘Results’, and separately ‘Discussion’; these sections may be divided into subsections, each with a concise subheading)

Subtitle one

Organic acids and sugars and their ratios, together with different aromatic compounds, play important roles in the character and quality of the flavour and organoleptic properties of apples. Malic and citric acid were detected in apple fruit cultivars. The fruits of different cultivars contained much higher amounts of malic acid than citric acid (Table 1).…

Subtitle two

………. According to the dendrogram results produced by cluster analysis, cultivars are separated to two main and three little groups (Fig. 1). ….

The ‘Discussion’ section should not contain a repeat of the results, but should explain the meaning of the findings and places the results in the context of other studies and concepts. There should be at least 30-40 reviews in order to compare the results with other researchers. Please also explain how the results relate to previous findings, whether in support, contradiction, or simply as added data. The references in this section should be up to date, relevant for the study.

Please avoid citing inaccessible data; do not include unpublished data; provide relevant, timely, and accessible through ordinary library or academic databases. Although you may read some general background references, e.g. encyclopedias, books, manuals, etc. it is recommended to cite articles from recognized research journals, which reported specific results relevant to your study.

Conclusions

State only conclusions that are directly supported by the evidence and the implications of your findings, in one-paragraph. Conclusion section summarizes the results and major findings; do not, however, include in the conclusion anything that has not been brought up in the results and discussion components.

Acknowledgements

Quick thanks should be mention only to the fund providers or supporters. The recommended form is: “This work was supported by the …, grant number xxx”.

If no specific funding was provided, use the following sentence: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

References(The references should be in alphabetical order with the journal name unabbreviated, see model for article, books etc. All citations mentioned in the text must be included in the ‘References’; also, all references listed must be mentioned in the text. At the end of each reference, between the pages of articles cited, please use hyphen “-”, not dash!)

(Journal Articles)

Adler PT, Carter ZHT, Dougherty L, Stanley Z, Schacht R, Robert M, . . . Smyth RG (2014). Nutrition facts and analysis for apple juice. Scientia Horticulture 24:134-141.

Chun OK (2016). Daily consumption of phenolics and total antioxidant capacity from fruit and vegetables in the American diet. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis 85(2):1715-1724.

Harker FR, Marsh KB, Young H, Murray SH, Gunson FA, Walker SB (2015). Sensory interpretation of instrumental measurements: sweet and acid taste of apple fruit. Postharvest Biology and Technology 24:241-250.

Hertog MGL, Hollman PCH, Katan MB (2002). Content of potentially anticarcinogenic flavonoids in different vegetables and fruits commonly consumed in the Netherlands. Plant Ecology 40:2379-2383.

Hudina M, Stampar F (2017). Sugars and organic acids contents of European (Pyrus communis L.) and Asian (Pyrus serotina Rehd.) pear cultivars. Life Sciences 29:217-230.

Treutter D (2013). Biosynthesis of phenolic compounds and its regulation in apple. Plant Growth Regulation54(1):71-89.

Usenik V (2016). Flavonols of leaves in relation to apple scab resistance. Acta Horticulture69(2):217-230.

Wolfe K (2017). Antioxidant activity of apple peels. Biochemistry91(3):609-614.

(When there are eight or more authors, include the first six authors’ names followed by an ellipsis (. . .) and the final author’s name)

References in other languages than English:

Mozart A, Johannes SB (2014). Erfahrungen der Kursteilnehmerkrankenschwestern[Experiences of the student nurse].Krankenpflegejournal10:100-120.

(For non-English publications, give the original title followed by its translation into English in square brackets)

References with doi:

Bostok M (2015). Apple crop. In: Frank E (Ed). Organic apples. doi:10.3218/7853/8922.666.261.

Miura A (2016). The effect of foliar fertilization on apple. Horticulture Review Papers

Preece T, Student KJ, Lauer NH, DovellD(2014). Comparative genome analysis provides insights into the evolution and adaptation of Pseudomonas syringaeon apple. PLoS One 5(4), e10224.

(Book)

Abbot MC (2014). Molecular cell biology. Academic Press (4thed), San Diego.

Donovan B, Clarke P (2017). Apple breeding. London, Rutledge.

(Book Chapter)

Bolder AG (2004). Apples. In: Janick J, Moore JN (Eds). Advances in fruit breeding. California Univ Press, West Lafayette, Indianapp 3-37.

Smith S, Johnson T (2017). Health benefits of apple. In: Knippe J (Ed). Apple production. Frenchs Press NSW Pearson Education Australiapp 198-240.

(Proceedings Paper)

Brandell CJ, Morris DA, Taylor PL (2000). Advances in watermelon fertility. In: MossJR, Stephen K, Seppard D (Eds). Proceedings of the Society for Horticultural Sciences 1999 Conference. Sydney: Springer pp 213-219.

Morris AJ, Hardy BK (2011). Organic and integrated fruit production systems. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Symposium on Genotype-Ecotype Relationships. Springer, Dordrecht, Netherlands pp 112-134.

(Reports, web-sources)

Department of Agriculture (2016). Germanagricultural statisticsfor 2015. Germany Dept Agr München. Retrieved 2017 February 12 from

PCADPP (2016). Presidential Commission on Agricultural Development Public Policy - The National Strategic Framework for sustainable development of the agro-alimentary sector (in Romanian). Retrieved 2017 April 12 from

(Thesis or Dissertation)

Pall V (2016). Contributions to decision support systems for the evaluation and use of agricultural lands. PhD Thesis, Corvinus Univ, Budapest.

Trumann JD (2015). Optimization of tissue culture techniques and Agrobacterium mediated transformation in wheat.MSc Dissertation, University of Edinburgh.

Table 1. The content of citric and malic acid and sugar/ organic acid ratio of fresh fruits of different apple cultivars

Cultivar / Content, as mean±S.E. (in g) / Total sugars/organic acids
Citric acid / Malic acid
‘Braeburn’ / 0.125±0.009 abc / 8.59±0.85 b / 16.41±1.35 c
‘Jonagold’ / 0.147±0.024 abc / 5.19±0.23 c / 24.15±1.31 b
‘Red Elstar’ / 0.230 ±0.021 ab / 12.82±0.64 a / 12.31±0.61 d
‘Golden Delicious’ / 0.239±0.021 a / 5.73±0.26 c / 23.45±0.95 b
‘Florina’ / 0.106±0.012 bc / 5.02±0.33 c / 28.88±1.28 a
‘Goldrush’ / 0.049±0.014 c / 13.33±1.10 a / 13.42±0.94 cd
‘Goldstar’ / 0.216±0.017 ab / 13.06±0.49 a / 14.45±0.44 cd
‘Rubinola’ / 0.112±0.020 abc / 7.05±0.22b c / 21.27±0.78 b
‘Topaz’ / 0.209±0.026 ab / 12.05±0.91 a / 13.61±0.68 cd
Cultivars susceptible for apple scab / A / A / A
Cultivars resistant for apple scab / A / A / A

Note: Different letters between cultivars denote significant differences (Duncan test, p0.05). Different letters between susceptible and resistant cultivars denote significant differences (LSD test, p0.05).

Data presented in tables should not be duplicated in figures.

Identify all tables, graphs, drawings and photographs with consecutive Arabic numerals (e.g., Fig. 1, 2, or 3; also for tables - Table 1, Table 2, etc.). For each table and figure please supply a caption (title),informative but not very long.

Fig. 1. Dendogram obtained by cluster analysis on the initial data…

Figures and/or photographs must be clear, with sharp focus and good density. Minimum size accepted for figures is 300 dpi.

Captions with table numbers must be placed before their associated tables. Citation of a table in the text is done as: Table 1, Tables 1 and 2, Tables 1, 2, 3. Avoid very large, complex Tables. Plan each table so that as much information as possible is in a clear, succinct caption. The legend must include all explanatory data, written justified.

Captions with figure numbers must be placed after their associated figures. Citation of a figure in the text is done as: Fig. 1…. , Figs. 1 and 2, Figs. 1, 2, 3. If figures are grouped (e.g., several photographs or graphs, histograms etc., label each panel as A, B, C etc.), give a general title and describe each panel (A, B etc.) separately in the legend.

Make sure tables and figures’ legends contain the necessary information so that a person can understand all data (each table or figure should be self-explanatory).