Use when targeting New Phytologist or deciding whether a plant-science manuscript fits this venue. Encodes the journal's fit, the integrative conceptual-advance and whole-plant/ecosystem-scale bar, evidence and data-deposition expectations, house style, official-submission re-check, and desk-reject heuristics.
SkillScore86Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 8/15/2026
What it changes
Passed 19 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 14 of 22 without it.
Without skill64%
With skill86%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
Re-routes the submission to the-plant-journal as the recommended venue.
Advises verifying FAIR deposition requirements for large trait databases and phylogenetic trees.
Recommends checking live article type guidelines to choose between a Rapid Report and a Research Article.
and 3 more in the full report
5 fixed14 passed either way3 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+23 pp
Tokens
+21%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-45%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/15/2026v119 of 22 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 5 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 5
Prompt
We recently cloned a novel kinase gene in Arabidopsis that enhances root osmotic tolerance and identified its direct downstream phosphorylation targets in cell culture. We are debating between submitting to New Phytologist or a cellular/molecular journal. Please review our paper's suitability and provide feedback structured with the following elements: fit level rating, target journal confirmation, key topic tags, assessment of conceptual advance across scales, method and evidence evaluation, top rejection risk, official submission policies to re-verify, and recommended alternative journals if our focus is too narrow.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
Evaluates the fit level as Low because the contribution focuses on a single-level molecular gene-to-function mechanism without whole-plant or ecological scope.
Missed
Passed
Re-routes the submission to the-plant-journal as the recommended venue.
Missed
Passed
case-02 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/15/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md115 linessingle file
New Phytologist (new-phytologist)
Journal positioning
New Phytologist, published by the New Phytologist Foundation, is a plant-science journal
with a long-standing strength in plant ecology, physiology, environmental interactions,
and symbiosis — mycorrhizal and other plant–microbe relationships, whole-plant function,
and processes that scale from organism to community and ecosystem. Its defining expectation
is a conceptual advance with integrative breadth: a study that changes how a process is
understood by connecting levels of organization, rather than a tightly bounded mechanistic
result. A study whose contribution is a single gene-to-function molecular mechanism with no
physiological, ecological, or whole-organism reach usually fits a cellular/molecular journal
better. This skill is a fit / venue-selection / re-framing tool. It does not replace the
journal's current author guidelines. Before submitting, re-check the live New Phytologist
author guidance.
When to trigger
The author names New Phytologist and wants a fit/framing check for an integrative
plant-ecology, physiology, or symbiosis paper.
A whole-plant or ecosystem-scale result must be framed as a conceptual advance that
connects mechanism to function across scales.
The author is deciding between New Phytologist and the-plant-journal and needs the
ecology/physiology-breadth versus molecular-mechanism distinction made explicit.
The author needs New Phytologist's desk-reject heuristics and a credible alternative route.
Scope & topic fit
Plant physiology and whole-plant function: water relations, carbon and nutrient economy,
photosynthesis, and stress ecophysiology with conceptual reach.
Plant–microbe and plant–plant interactions, especially mycorrhizal and other symbioses,
including nutrient exchange and community consequences.
Plant ecology and environmental responses, including community, ecosystem, and
global-change-relevant processes anchored in plant function.
Plant–environment interactions spanning soil, climate, and biotic context where the plant
is central to the process.
Evolutionary ecology, functional and trait-based approaches that integrate across levels.
Methods and conceptual syntheses that advance integrative plant science.
Use when targeting Annual Review of Plant Biology or deciding whether a plant-biology review proposal fits this invited-review venue. Encodes the journal's fit, the authoritative-synthesis and invited-article bar, evidence and balance expectations, house style, official-submission re-check, and desk-reject heuristics.