Why do you think the Archives of Virology is so highly
cited?
Archives of Virology
is the only virology journal that covers
all aspects of virus research, from genome-based work to structural
and immunological studies and from pathogenesis and epidemiology to
the ecology of virus infections. It publishes articles on the complete
spectrum of viruses irrespective of whether they infect man, animals,
plants, or microorganisms.
It is a truly international journal with a truly international
editorial board and it features papers with the widest geographical
authorship of any virology journal. It caters to all virologists, from
the large U.S. institutions to the small laboratory in the developing
world, while maintaining a high standard based on good refereeing. Its
only criterion for accepting papers is that they are judged to be
scientifically sound and to describe novel and significant findings.
In so doing it welcomes contributions from fields that tend to be
overlooked by other virology journals and also avoids the prevalent
trend towards specialization.
The journal is the official mouthpiece of the Virology Division of
the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS). Its
regular section, "Virology Division News," provides
important information on taxonomy and nomenclature of viruses and
gives high visibility to the activities of the International Committee
on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV). This visibility is enhanced by the
policy of allowing free Internet access to "Virology Division
News" without subscribing to the journal. The journal further
enhances its citation rate by featuring Brief Reviews as well as
Special Issues.
Have there been specific developments in the field of microbiology
that may have contributed?
In the past decade there has been an increasing emergence and
recognition of new viral diseases arising through altered host range
and genetic mutation/recombination of viruses.
Progress in nucleic acid sequencing and genetic engineering
technologies has greatly stimulated the collection of data on viral
genomes. The construction of infectious cDNA clones has facilitated
the study of viral gene function, virus-host interactions, the
molecular basis of virulence, and the potential use of viral vectors
as vaccines.
Archives of Virology has always given considerable coverage to
various aspects of veterinary virology, for instance the study of
animal coronaviruses, and this has attracted considerable interest
with the recent emergence of the SARS epidemic caused by a new type of
coronavirus.
There has been, in recent years, a widening gulf between molecular
virology—which emphasizes the study of viral genomes—and basic
viral biology—which focuses on the biological and phenotypic
properties of viruses. Whereas some virology journals tend to favor
molecular studies, no such restriction or specialization has occurred
in the case of Archives of Virology, which continued to publish
papers covering all topics in virology.
Virology has also entered the post-genomic era and an increasing
number of virologists are moving in their research from a purely
genome-oriented and reductionist approach towards a more integrated
approach that considers biological systems as a whole and addresses
the dynamic interplay between viruses, their hosts, and their vectors.
Virologists focus increasingly on viral phenotype expression, cellular
integration, viral life cycles, and viral epidemiology, and this makes
Archives of Virology an increasingly attractive publication
venue.
How do you envisage the state of our knowledge in this particular
field 10 years from now?
Identification of new viruses and the advent of new technologies—for
instance, in proteomics and drug discovery—are likely to lead to
many new applications in clinical virology, new vaccines, and novel
therapeutic agents.
The SARS epidemic has shown how international collaboration can
speed up the acquisition of new data, as the virus genome was
sequenced in less than two months after the etiological coronavirus
agent was identified. The demand for fast and updated information
online will no doubt increase as will the pressure to publish results
very rapidly.
On the other hand, the current emphasis on viral genomes and viral
molecular biology may well lead to fewer virologists being familiar
with the many biological aspects of virus diseases. At some stage the
pendulum will swing back and the emphasis will move from the study of
viral particles, their genomes and their evolution to that of disease
processes and of the natural, biological cycles that control virus
multiplication and epidemiology. By shifting from the molecular study
of genomics to that of virus-host interactions, virologists will then
recognize that viruses belong more to biology than to chemistry and
that an integrative approach to biological systems is more appropriate
than a purely molecular approach.
What would you like to convey to the general public about the work
of the Archives of Virology?
The journal is a major forum for the publication of original virus
research in all aspects of the discipline from diagnosis to structure
and taxonomy, and from replication to epidemiology. It accepts papers
from anywhere; it gives the underdogs a chance of publishing their
data and gives a home to more work from the developing world than any
other virological publication, while at the same time maintaining a
high standard.
The journal was created in 1939, and was the first scientific
journal devoted entirely to virology. It always had the ecumenical
ambition to cover all aspects of virology rather than being
specialized in one particular area.
In keeping with its international calling, the journal will
continue to welcome submissions from virologists in all countries of
the world and will provide them with a rapid and high-quality
publication venue.
Archives of Virology
M.H.V. Regenmortel, Editor-in-Chief
Springer-Verlag Wien, publishers
Official journal of the Virology Division of the International Union
of Microbiological Societies
n our Special Topic on coronaviruses, the
Archives
of Virology ranks at #5 among journals publishing this research
over the past decade, with 58 papers cited a total of 327 times. In
the 
Web product,
the Archives of Virology currently has 2,342 papers cited a
total of 15,512 times to date in the field of Microbiology. Below,
Editor-in-Chief M. Van Regenmortel sums up the editorial board’s
viewpoints on this journal’s citation record.
The SARS epidemic has shown how
international collaboration can speed up the acquisition of new data, as the virus genome was sequenced in less than two months after the etiological coronavirus agent was
identified.
