We welcome your original, high-quality research papers, reviews, genome resources, bioinformatics tools, and databases on evolutionary and functional genomics for a special issue of the Journal of Systematics and Evolution. This issue is organized by Profs. Yuan-Nian Jiao (Institute of Botany, CAS), Wen-Jun Li (Sun Yat-Sen University), Huabin Zhao (Wuhan University, China) and Dr. Taikui Zhang (Pennsylvania State University, USA). Please submit your manuscripts by 31 January, 2026 at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/josae, noting in the cover letter that you are submitting to this special issue. All papers in this special issue will be Free Access and the journal will waive all page and color charges.
Themes
The entire diversity of life forms formulated by Darwin in The Origin of Species is fundamental to biology. Recent advances in comparative genomics and phylogenomics have largely improved our understanding of key evolutionary processes across the tree of life, such as mammalian diversification, avian evolution and adaptation, the origin and divergence of land plants, and the evolution of ectomycorrhizal lifestyles. In particular, resolved phylogenetic relationships have served as an evolutionary roadmap for investigating the origins of central morphological and physiological traits, as well as their genomic landscapes among different groups. Evolutionary and functional genomics have uncovered the molecular basis of developmental and adaptive traits across different groups. This field also highlights the interactions between different life forms, such as enteric microorganisms, plant-fungal associations, and flowering plants with entomophilous pollinators, all contributing to biodiversity.
In addition, evolutionary genomics in the new era of pan-genomics, particularly in a genus, allow to deeply detect the evolution of shared variations in relation to the phylogenetic relationships. Revolutions in high-throughput sequencing technologies have enabled the assembly of super-genomes and nearly complete genomes, further advancing the field of evolutionary genomics.
This special issue aims to highlight cutting-edge research in genome evolution and develop new strategies that empower the biological community to leverage increasing genomic resources for studying evolutionary processes at both the organismal and molecular levels.
Subject Coverage
We welcome original research articles, reviews, genome resources, bioinformatics tools, and databases addressing a variety of key topics in the context of genome evolution, including but not limited to:
Organizers
Prof. Yuan-Nian Jiao
Institute of Botany, CAS, Beijing, China
E-mail: jiaoyn@ibcas.ac.cn
Prof. Wen-Jun Li
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
E-mail: liwenjun3@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Prof. Huabin Zhao
Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
E-mail: huabinzhao@whu.edu.cn
Dr. Taikui Zhang
The Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, US
E-mail: liwenjun3@mail.sysu.edu.cn
Contributing Authors Benefits
• All articles in the special issue will be free access
• All charges (page and color) will be waived by the journal
Notes for Prospective Authors
We welcome the submission of articles, reviews, genome resources, bioinformatics tools, and databases. Authors are required to submit their scripts to CodeOcean (https://codeocean.com) and provide a capsule link to the manuscript for peer review. Authors are required to supply sequence alignments and gene tree files as supplementary files for peer review. When submitting a paper as a genome resource, authors are also required to provide the genome annotation file as a supplementary file for peer review. For papers submitted as bioinformatics tools, we request that authors limit the main text to no more than three pages and include a code section that explains how to use the tool.
Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers, including reviews, will be peer-reviewed (suggestions for potential reviewers are welcomed) and held to the standards of the journal. Authors interested in submitting their work for publication in this special issue should consult our website, www.jse.ac.cn, for information on how to submit. Please do not forget to indicate in your cover letter that you are submitting to the "Genome Evolution".
Important Dates
Authors interested in contributing to the special issue should submit their manuscripts by 31 January, 2026 at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/josae
The target date for publication of the special issue is 1 July, 2026, although accepted manuscripts will be published online in advance of the issue.
Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact:
Dr. Taikui Zhang or the JSE Editorial Office at jse@ibcas.ac.cn.
