Nature Biotechnology Formatting Requirements: Complete Author Guide

Nature Biotechnology publishes several article formats. The word limits align with other Nature Portfolio journals but vary by article type.

The ~3,000-word limit for Articles excludes the abstract, Online Methods, references, and figure legends. This can feel tight for papers describing complex biotechnologies with multiple validation experiments, but the unlimited Online Methods section provides the space you need for technical detail.

Nature Biotechnology uses an unstructured abstract limited to 150 words. No section headings are required or expected.

An effective Nature Biotechnology abstract follows this pattern:

• 1-2 sentences on the problem and why current solutions are insufficient
• 1 sentence describing the approach or technology
• 2-3 sentences with key results and quantitative performance metrics
• 1 sentence on the broader significance for the field

Nature Biotechnology readers expect technical specificity. "We developed a new CRISPR tool" is too vague. "We engineered a compact Cas12a variant (435 amino acids) that achieves 94% editing efficiency at therapeutically relevant loci while maintaining a 50-fold reduction in off-target activity compared to SpCas9" tells the reader exactly what you've done.

The abstract should not contain references, undefined abbreviations, or figure citations. It must stand alone.

Nature Biotechnology doesn't require a formal cover page in the traditional sense. The first page of your manuscript includes:

• Title (maximum 90 characters including spaces)
• Author list with superscript affiliation numbers
• Numbered affiliations
• Corresponding author email

Titles at Nature Biotechnology should describe the advance, not the method. "Compact CRISPR-Cas12a variants enable efficient genome editing in primary human cells" is better than "Development and characterization of novel Cas12a orthologs." The 90-character limit enforces brevity.

Nature Biotechnology does not use running titles or short titles. Don't include them.

Nature Biotechnology allows up to 8 display items in the main manuscript, which can be any combination of figures and tables.

Figure requirements:

• Minimum resolution: 300 DPI for all image types
• Preferred formats: TIFF, EPS, or PDF at submission; TIFF required at acceptance
• Single-column width: 88 mm; double-column width: 180 mm
• Font in figures: Arial or Helvetica, 5-7 point minimum
• Color is free for both online and print
• Multi-panel figures use lowercase labels (a, b, c, not A, B, C)
• Scale bars are mandatory on all microscopy and gel images
• Gel images must be uncropped in supplementary data

Table requirements:

• Tables should be embedded in the manuscript Word file
• Every column must have a header
• Use footnotes for abbreviations and statistical details
• Avoid tables with excessive columns. If you have more than 8-10 columns, consider splitting or moving to Supplementary Information

Extended Data (up to 10 items):

Extended Data figures and tables are peer-reviewed and published as part of the online article. They're referenced as "Extended Data Fig. 1" and are considered integral to the paper, unlike Supplementary Information.

Supplementary Information:

Additional datasets, code repositories, videos, large tables, and other supporting material go in Supplementary Information. This is posted online but not part of the formatted article.

Nature Biotechnology uses the standard Nature Portfolio numbered reference style.

Key formatting rules:

• Superscript numbers in the text, placed after punctuation
• Multiple citations separated by commas; ranges with a dash (e.g., 1,3,7-10)
• References numbered in order of first appearance
• All authors listed in the reference list (no "et al" truncation)
• Journal names abbreviated per ISO standards
• No issue numbers; just volume and page range

Example journal article:

1. Wang, T., Lin, K., Chen, S. & Gupta, R. Programmable RNA editing with compact ADAR-recruiting guide RNAs. Nat. Biotechnol. 44, 287-295 (2026).

Example preprint (accepted at Nature Biotechnology):

1. Lee, J. et al. Massively parallel protein-protein interaction profiling via split-intein barcoding. Preprint at bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2026.01.15.012345 (2026).

Example book:

1. Alberts, B. et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell 7th edn (W.W. Norton, 2025).

Nature Biotechnology is one of the few high-impact journals that regularly accepts citations to preprints. If you're citing a preprint, use the format above and include the DOI.

Like all Nature Portfolio journals, Nature Biotechnology places the Methods section after the references. This is called the Online Methods section, and it has no formal word limit.

Online Methods must include:

• Detailed experimental procedures sufficient for replication
• Cell line sources and authentication details
• Animal model details (strain, age, sex, housing)
• Human subjects information (IRB approval, consent procedures)
• Software tools with version numbers
• Custom code availability (GitHub or Zenodo links)
• Statistical methods with full descriptions
• Data processing pipelines

For Nature Biotechnology specifically, the Online Methods section often needs to be more detailed than at other Nature Portfolio journals. The readership expects enough technical detail to reproduce your technology, protocol, or computational method. If you developed a new assay, include step-by-step instructions. If you built a computational pipeline, describe every processing step.

Reproducibility is where Nature Biotechnology goes further than most journals. The editorial team has made this a defining priority, and it directly affects manuscript formatting.

Reporting Summary (mandatory):

Every submission must include a completed Reporting Summary. This standardized checklist covers:

• Study design (sample sizes, replicates, randomization, blinding)
• Statistical analysis (tests, corrections, software)
• Data availability (repositories, accession numbers)
• Code availability (repository links, documentation)
• Reagent validation (antibodies, cell lines, key biological resources)

The Reporting Summary is published alongside accepted papers. Fill it out thoroughly because reviewers and editors use it during evaluation.

Data availability statement:

Your manuscript must include a Data Availability section specifying exactly where all data can be accessed. Acceptable repositories include:

• GEO or ArrayExpress for sequencing data
• PRIDE for proteomics data
• GitHub or Zenodo for custom datasets
• Figshare for general data sharing

"Data available upon reasonable request" is not acceptable as a standalone statement at Nature Biotechnology. You need specific repository names and accession numbers.

Code availability statement:

If your paper includes custom software, algorithms, or analysis pipelines, you must provide a Code Availability section with:

• Repository URL (GitHub, GitLab, or similar)
• Version or release tag used in the paper
• Zenodo DOI for long-term archival
• License information
• Documentation sufficient for independent use

1. Methods go after references, not in the main text. The main text can include a brief methods overview, but detailed protocols belong in Online Methods. New authors to the Nature system consistently misplace this section.

2. Lowercase figure panel labels. Multi-panel figures use lowercase letters (a, b, c), which is the opposite convention from Cell Press journals (A, B, C). Using uppercase will trigger a formatting correction request.

3. Extended Data vs Supplementary Information. These are not the same thing. Extended Data items (up to 10) are peer-reviewed and part of the article. Supplementary Information is additional supporting material. Don't put important results in Supplementary Information when they belong in Extended Data.

4. Reporting Summary is published. Unlike journals where checklists are internal documents, Nature Biotechnology publishes the completed Reporting Summary. Reviewers and readers can see exactly what you reported. Don't treat it as a formality.

5. Life Sciences Reporting Standards apply. If your paper involves antibodies, cell lines, or animal models, you must address validation, authentication, and ethical approval in the Reporting Summary. These aren't optional fields.

6. Preprint policy. Nature Biotechnology actively supports preprints and won't consider preprint posting as prior publication. You can (and many authors do) post to bioRxiv or medRxiv before or during review. Mention any preprint in your cover letter.

A standard Nature Biotechnology Article follows this order:

1. Title (90 characters max)
2. Abstract (150 words, unstructured)
3. Main text (~3,000 words with descriptive subheadings)
4. References
5. Online Methods
6. Acknowledgements
7. Author contributions
8. Competing interests
9. Data availability
10. Code availability
11. Figure legends
12. Extended Data figure legends
13. Figures, tables, and Extended Data
14. Supplementary Information

The main text doesn't use standard IMRAD headings. Instead, use descriptive subheadings that communicate findings: "Split-intein barcoding enables massively parallel PPI profiling" rather than "Results." This narrative approach is standard across all Nature Portfolio journals.

These are the errors we see most often in Nature Biotechnology submissions:

• Exceeding the 3,000-word main text limit
• Putting detailed methods in the main text instead of Online Methods
• Using structured abstract headings (Nature Biotechnology doesn't use them)
• Missing the Reporting Summary checklist
• Using uppercase figure panel labels (should be lowercase)
• Vague data availability statements without specific repository names
• Missing code availability section for computational papers
• Confusing Extended Data with Supplementary Information
• Truncating author lists in references with "et al"
• Forgetting to include gel source data for any blot or gel images

Each of these will trigger either an administrative return or a reviewer comment that delays your paper.

For comparison with the sibling journal in the Nature Portfolio, see our Nature Medicine formatting requirements guide. If you're evaluating whether your work fits this journal's scope, check our guide on whether Nature Biotechnology is a good journal.

For official specifications and the latest template files, visit the Nature Biotechnology author guidelines page.