Spotlight on China

Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus)Image courtesy of © Forest and Kim Starr

Over the last years there has been a great resurgence in Chinese research, backed by governmental encouragement and financial resources. As a result, the People's Republic of China has become a major player in the field of biotechnology. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry. Last year (2008), no less than 29% of papers submitted were from China, considerably more than from any other single country. Moreover, an almost identical percentage of the papers published last year were also from China.

In recognition of the huge strides that China has made in this field, I am pleased to present to you a selection of papers emanating from China that we have published over the last two years or so.

Running alongside these developments is the great interest that Western drug companies are now showing in traditional Chinese medicines. In relation to this I would especially draw your attention to a review from China recently published in our journal on the production and metabolic engineering of terpenoid indole alkaloids from the Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) by M. L. Zhou, J. R. Shao and Y. X. Tang of the Sichuan Agricultural University, Yaan, and the Biotechnology Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing.

We do, of course, welcome papers from all parts of the globe. Publication in Biotechnology and Applied Biochemistry offers many benefits, including a fast independent and fair review process, quick publication (because of ASAP publishing and an increased number of issues), free colour in review articles, no submission or page charges, and free supplementary online data and multimedia. We have also made it possible, through Opt2Pay, to make your Version of Record freely available, thereby fulfilling the mandates of most grant-awarding authorities. If your institution subscribes to the journal, you will receive a discount on the Opt2Pay fee.

Parviz A. Shamlou
Editor-in-Chief