We are excited to announce a call for papers for two upcoming companion special issues to be published in the Botanical Society of America’s journals, the American Journal of Botany (AJB) and Applications in Plant Sciences (APPS). “Exploring the Potential of Angiosperms353, a Universal Toolkit for Flowering Plant Phylogenomics” will delve into the possibilities of this novel phylogenomic toolkit for target sequence capture in flowering plants. The universal nature of Angiosperms353 is creating new opportunities for systematists and evolutionary biologists, improving access to challenging molecular techniques and engendering cross-community collaboration. We are keen to share the many ways in which the toolkit is already being used, to celebrate new discoveries, and to better understand its properties and limitations.

These special issues are being organized by AJB Guest Editors Bill Baker and Felix Forest (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK), Lisa Pokorny (CBGP UPM-INIA, Spain), Steven Dodsworth (University of Bedfordshire, UK), Jennifer Tate (Massey University, NZ), and Sean Graham (University of British Columbia, Canada); and by APPS Guest Editors Susann Wicke (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany), Angela McDonnell and Norm Wickett (Chicago Botanic Garden, USA), and Matt Johnson (Texas Tech University, USA).

AJB welcomes submissions on any aspect of the application of Angiosperms353, including empirical studies of specific plant groups, explorations of applicability at varying taxonomic scales (including population level), and comparisons with other toolkits. The companion issue in APPS welcomes submissions exploring potential uses in applied research (e.g., DNA barcoding, molecular ecology) and methodological developments. These special issues coincide with an upcoming symposium “Angiosperms353: A new essential tool for plant systematics” at Botany 2020 in Anchorage, Alaska (July 18-22), organized by Laura Lagomarsino (Louisiana State University, USA) and Rachel Jabaily (Colorado College, USA).

How to submit: Authors interested in contributing to these special issues should email a proposal that includes a tentative title, tentative author list, preferred journal (AJB or APPS), and a 200–300-word abstract to Amy McPherson at ajb@botany.org. The deadline for proposal submission is April 30, 2020. Proposals will be reviewed by the Editors-in-Chief and Guest Editors. Authors will be notified by May 12, 2020, as to whether their proposal was accepted. Proposal submissions from early-career researchers are particularly encouraged.

Authors whose proposals are accepted should submit their manuscript by October 1, 2020. Note that acceptance of a proposal does not guarantee the eventual acceptance of the manuscript, as all manuscripts will be rigorously peer-reviewed and held to the standards of the journals.

The target date for publication of the special issues is early 2021, although accepted manuscripts will be published online in advance of the issues.

Questions? Contact the AJB Managing Editor and Director of Publications, Amy McPherson, at ajb@botany.org, or the APPS Managing Editor, Beth Parada, at apps@botany.org.

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