Traffic: The International Journal of Intracellular Transport

Edited by:
  • Frances M. Brodsky,
  • Mark C. P. Marsh &
  • Sandra L. Schmid
Munksgaard. 12/yr. $380 (institutional), $120 (individual)

Since the classic work of George Palade and colleagues in the sixties, the field of cell membrane traffic has undergone an almost exponential growth. Milestones include the introduction of yeast genetics for identifying genes involved in individual trafficking steps and the development of cell-free assays for investigating membrane transport. More recently, the dramatic progress in live-cell microscopy and the inroads of structural biology have transformed our understanding of trafficking proteins.

Traffic is the first journal devoted entirely to the coverage of membrane traffic. Launched at the start of this year by a group of renowned scientists including Frances Brodsky, Mark Marsh, Sandy Schmid and the late Thomas Kreis, the goal is to create “a central journal to gather together publications that are of most interest to those working on intracellular trafficking”.

Published monthly, about half of the journal space is devoted to short and well-illustrated reviews centred around a common theme. Other features include a “toolbox” section covering technical developments (recently including galleries of crystal structures of trafficking proteins, and a collection of John Heuser's stunning three-dimensional electron micrographs), meeting reports, and commentaries by senior scientists about current issues of general interest. The remainder contains research papers.

Where does Traffic stand after the first seven issues? Obviously, it is very difficult to start a new journal in a highly competitive field. So far, Traffic publishes only three to five research papers a month, too few to have a serious impact. In a world driven by ‘impact factor’ mania, students and postdocs are not easily persuaded to submit high-quality papers to a new journal with a still uncertain acceptance and will turn instead to established cell biology journals. However, it is refreshing to see senior scientists serving the community as enthusiastic editors in a journal market increasingly dominated by professional editors with limited research experience and by revenue-oriented business managers.

Despite its (still) small size, Traffic has succeeded in attracting many leading scientists, as can be seeen by a glance at the editorial board and, more importantly, by the list of contributors.

The journal's appeal is heightened by an attractive layout and excellently reproduced drawings and images, mostly in colour. Traffic still has a long way to go before it becomes a ‘must read’ for the trafficking community, but it has made a strong start and is well on its way. All it needs now is its growing acceptance as an attractive forum for the publication of excellent research articles.

→http://journals.munksgaard.dk/trafficf.nsf/alt/forside-1304