Preprints

Direct Transfer Service to PLOS Biology

PLOS partners with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to make posting preprints in the life sciences easy and convenient. All PLOS Biology research articles are eligible for preprints, with the exception of preregistered research articles.

Authors posting preprints to the bioRxiv preprint server can choose to concurrently submit their manuscripts to PLOS Biology and other relevant PLOS journals through the direct transfer service. Learn more about posting a preprint and the direct transfer service offered by bioRxiv.

Facilitated Preprint Posting from PLOS Biology

Authors submitting manuscripts in the life sciences to PLOS Biology may opt-in to have PLOS forward their submission to bioRxiv for consideration for posting as a preprint.

Papers that pass an initial screening for suitability will be posted on bioRxiv as a preprint, meaning that the manuscript files will be made publicly available and credited to the listed authors. If the article is later accepted for publication in PLOS Biology, the preprint and published article will link to each other when the article appears online.

Eligibility to post on bioRxiv is independent from the editorial assessment and peer review process. Preprint checks do not impact the decision regarding suitability for publication in PLOS Biology. Read more about editorial selection at PLOS Biology.

Preparing preprint files for submission

Preprints appear on bioRxiv in PDF format. Authors can choose to supply their own preprint PDF or have PLOS Biology compile an automatically generated PDF.

If you supply a preprint PDF it will appear on bioRxiv unchanged. Be sure to include title, authors, abstract, and the full text of the manuscript, along with any figures or tables and their captions. bioRxiv limits PDF file size to 40 MB or less. PDF files must be compressed to meet this requirement.
Alternatively, PLOS Biology can automatically compile a preprint PDF suitable for bioRxiv from the manuscript file and figure files that are part of your journal submission. Supplementary information will not be included in auto-generated preprints, but may be uploaded directly to bioRxiv after posting.

Note that some figure quality may be lost during the auto-conversion process. For best results, make sure that your submission materials meet journal formatting requirements, and that tables fit within the margins of the page. If you are concerned about figure resolution, consider supplying a preprint PDF alongside your other submission files.

Preprint checks

After authors have opted in to have their preprint posted by PLOS Biology, it is transferred to bioRxiv where researchers with relevant expertise screen preprint submissions for suitability. More information on the screening process can be found on the bioRxiv site.

Most submissions that pass the servers’ preprint checks will be posted within a few days of submission. Authors will receive a notification of successful preprint posting directly from bioRxiv. Once posted, a preprint cannot be removed from bioRxiv.

bioRxiv will communicate with authors directly if issues arise or screening indicates that a manuscript is not eligible for posting.

Updates to preprints

To ensure that readers are always accessing the latest version of the manuscript, authors are encouraged to submit updates and revisions to bioRxiv directly up until the point of acceptance for publication. Consult the submission guide at bioRxiv for specific instructions.

Concerns

If a concern arises about a published PLOS article with a related preprint, PLOS will evaluate the concern according to our standard editorial processes, taking into account any relevant comments available on the preprint.