Errata, Author Corrections, Retractions
Errata
The Erratum section provides a means of correcting errors that occurred during the writing, typing, editing, or publication (e.g., a misspelling, a dropped word or line, or mislabeling in a figure) of a published article. Submit Errata via the mBio online submission and peer review system at https://mbio.msubmit.net/cgi-bin/main.plex. In the Abstract section of the submission form (a required field), put “Not Applicable.” Upload the text of your Erratum as a Microsoft Word file. Please see a recent issue for correct formatting.
Author Corrections
Author Corrections provide a means of correcting errors of omission (e.g., author names or citations) and errors of a scientific nature that do not alter the overall basic results or conclusions of a published article (e.g., an incorrect unit of measurement or order of magnitude used throughout, contamination of one of numerous cultures, or misidentification of a mutant strain, causing erroneous data for only a portion [noncritical] of the study). Note that the addition of new data is not permitted.
For corrections of a scientific nature or issues involving authorship, including contributions and use or ownership of data and/or materials, all disputing parties must agree, in writing, to publication of the Correction. For omission of an author’s name, letters must be signed by the authors of the article and the author whose name was omitted. The editor who handled the article will be consulted if necessary.
Submit an Author Correction via the mBio online submission and peer review system at https://mbio.msubmit.net/cgi-bin/main.plex. In the submission form, select Erratum as the manuscript type; there is no separate selection in the submission system for an Author Correction, but your Correction will be published as such if appropriate. In the Abstract section of the submission form (a required field), put “Not Applicable.” Upload the text of your Author Correction as a Microsoft Word file. Please see a recent issue for correct formatting.
Retractions
Retractions are reserved for major errors or breaches of ethics that, for example, may call into question the source of the data or the validity of the results and conclusions of an article. If you feel that a Retraction may be necessary for an article that you have authored, you should contact the mBio staff at mBio@asmusa.org. The mBio staff will submit a Retraction on your behalf. The Retraction will be assigned to the editor in chief of the journal, and the editor who handled the paper and the chairperson of the ASM Journals Committee will be consulted. If the Retraction is approved, all authors will be asked to sign a letter of agreement before the Retraction is processed for publication. If all parties agree to the publication and content of the Retraction, it will be sent to the Journals Department for publication.
Crossmark
ASM has implemented Crossmark. Crossmark is a multipublisher initiative to provide a standard way for readers to locate the current version of an article. Clicking on the Crossmark logo will indicate whether an article is current or whether updates have been published. Additional information about Crossmark can be found on Crossmark's website and on ASM's Crossmark policy page.