Recent replies to "JOURNAL CLUB: SLAC1 is required for plant guard cell S-type anion channel function in stomatal signalling"

Reply from Martin Fenner

Martin Fenner — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:33:08 -0000

Janet, I don’t think you have to put everything into the title. I like the short and general titles we have in some other papers in this forum:

The cellular and molecular origins of beak morphology
Functional Genomic Analysis of C. elegans Molting
Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans

My suggestion:

SLAC1 is essential for the response of plant leaves to environmental stress

Reply from Janet Novak

Janet Novak — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:57:48 -0000

This paper makes quite enjoyable reading overall, but I agree that the title is hard to understand. Part of the problem is the noun string “plant guard cell S-type anion channel function,” which is difficult to parse. Not that it’s easy to write a title that is clear to those outside the field, but detailed enough for those in the field.

Martin, what do you think would be a good title for this paper? I came up with these ideas:

Stomatal closure is regulated by SLAC1, a protein essential for control of S-type anion channels in guard cells

SLAC1 regulates closure of plant stomata by control of S-type anion channels in guard cells

SLAC1 implicates S-type anion channels in guard cells in the regulation of closure of stomata

Reply from Martin Fenner

Martin Fenner — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 16:22:13 -0000

Maxine, I agree that the abstract is very clear. The rest of the text is also reasonably easy to follow. I don’t like the title, you understand this only if you are an involved in the field.

I did a little experiment using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Test, where the score correlates with the U.S. School grade level that can follow the text:

This paper: 13.9
Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans: 11.2
The cellular and molecular origins of beak morphology: 9.3

In my opinion the score correlates well with the perceived difficulty of the texts.