JOURNAL OF BACTERIOLOGY INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS* HOW TO SUBMIT MANUSCRIPTS

must be made via the Rapid Review online submission and peer review system at the following URL: www.rapidreview.com/ASM2/author.html. E-mailed submis-sions will not be accepted. Since we cannot predict the precise date when online submission will begin, please visit the above site before getting ready to submit your manuscript. A message listing the ASM journals for which online submission has started will be posted. If the JB site is open, follow the instructions on the screen to create a user account and submit your manuscript elec-tronically. If online submission is not yet available for JB, mail in your hard-copy manuscript. Once the online submission site is open, all manuscripts will follow an electronic review process (exception: if the original sub-mission followed a hard-copy process, the modified manuscript will also be handled in hard copy). For a short time after JB’s submission portal is opened, manu-scripts received in hard copy will be scanned by the editorial staff of the ASM Journals Department and uploaded to the Rapid Review system so that review can proceed electronically. After this transitional period, we will not handle hard copy and will contact the author to request online submission. Specific instructions for mak-ing an online submission will be provided at the above URL. Note that some of the requirements and processes outlined in these Instructions to Authors will not apply to electronic submissions. For hard-copy submissions, send manuscripts directl