The PNAS bioRxiv submission pathway runs through bioRxiv’s own bioRxiv-to-journal (B2J) transfer tool, which sends manuscript files, figures and author metadata straight from a preprint’s “Author Area” into a partner journal’s editorial system. PNAS Nexus, the open-access companion journal published with Oxford University Press, is a listed B2J partner; the flagship PNAS journal instead accepts bioRxiv preprints under its standard “posting is permitted” policy, handled through ordinary manual submission. Nature and eLife each use a third and fourth mechanism again — this guide maps all of them.
Direct submission, in the strict bioRxiv sense, means B2J: an automated transfer of files and metadata that removes the need to re-upload a manuscript at the receiving journal. That is a narrower, more specific claim than “the journal accepts preprints,” and conflating the two is the most common error in advice about preprint-to-journal workflows.
- Does PNAS accept direct submission from bioRxiv?
- How does bioRxiv’s B2J transfer system actually work?
- How does Nature handle bioRxiv preprints?
- How does eLife’s preprint-review model differ?
- Common questions on bioRxiv journal submission
- What this means for authors and research offices
Does PNAS accept direct submission from bioRxiv?
Yes, but the route depends on which PNAS title is involved. PNAS’s Standard License Terms state that authors retain “the right to post the manuscript on preprint servers such as arXiv or bioRxiv,” and its editorial policies confirm that posting on preprint servers “is permitted and will not affect editorial consideration.” That is a preprint-tolerance policy, not a file-transfer mechanism.
For an actual B2J connection — where bioRxiv pushes the manuscript and metadata into the journal’s submission system — the relevant partner on bioRxiv’s own list is PNAS Nexus, the fully open-access companion journal the National Academy of Sciences launched with Oxford University Press in 2022. Authors submitting to the flagship PNAS still upload independently and disclose the bioRxiv DOI in their cover letter or submission form.
How does bioRxiv’s B2J transfer system actually work?
bioRxiv describes B2J as a service that “can save authors time in submitting papers to journals or peer review services by transmitting their manuscript files and metadata directly from bioRxiv.” Authors do not re-enter author lists, funding statements or figure files; the receiving journal’s system pulls them from the preprint record.
bioRxiv’s live Submission Guide lists 192 partner journals and peer-review services participating in B2J at the time of this analysis (mid-2026), spanning the PLOS family, EMBO’s three journals, Cell Press titles such as Cell Reports and Cell Genomics, the Royal Society’s journals, AAAS’s Science-family titles (Science Advances, Science Immunology, Science Signaling, Science Translational Medicine), Genetics Society journals, and independent review services including Review Commons.
- Confirm the preprint version you want to transfer — revisions keep the same DOI, so specify the version-specific URL if it matters.
- Select a reuse licence on bioRxiv (CC BY, CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-ND or CC0) before transfer, since this travels with the metadata.
- Check the receiving journal’s own preprint-disclosure requirement — B2J moves files, but editorial policy compliance remains the author’s responsibility.
- Verify funder mandate compatibility (for example NIH Public Access or cOAlition S requirements) before relying on the preprint version alone for compliance.
bioRxiv itself is operated by openRxiv, described on its own Submission Guide as “a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science communication” — a distinct entity from any single receiving journal, which is why B2J participation is a per-journal opt-in list rather than a universal feature.
How does Nature handle bioRxiv preprints?
Nature and most Nature-branded journals treat a bioRxiv posting as compatible with submission, not as prior publication, so authors can submit a manuscript that already exists as a bioRxiv preprint. Unlike PNAS Nexus, however, neither the flagship Nature journal nor its major sister titles appear on bioRxiv’s public B2J partner list, so there is no automated file transfer from bioRxiv into Nature’s own submission system as of this analysis.
The practical route is the standard one: submit through the journal’s own online system and disclose the preprint DOI in the cover letter. Springer Nature separately runs “In Review,” a partnership with Research Square that posts a preprint alongside transparent, published peer-review reports for participating journals — a related but functionally different bridge from bioRxiv’s B2J, since it originates on the journal side rather than the preprint-server side.
How does eLife’s preprint-review model differ?
eLife’s relationship with bioRxiv is the tightest of the three, but it is not a simple file-transfer either. eLife announced its bioRxiv-integrated transfer option in 2017, letting authors “upload a preprint to bioRxiv first and then transfer their files for consideration by eLife.” In December 2020, eLife announced it would require all new submissions to be posted as preprints on bioRxiv, medRxiv or an equivalent server before review — a policy shift reported by Science/AAAS at the time.
Since its 2023 “Publish, Review, Curate” model, eLife no longer issues accept/reject decisions after review. Every manuscript it reviews is published as a Reviewed Preprint — the bioRxiv (or medRxiv) posting itself, plus public peer reviews and an eLife Assessment summarising significance and evidence strength. The preprint version and the eLife editorial layer stay linked rather than being replaced by a separate “Version of Record.”
| Journal / publisher | Preprint policy | Mechanism from bioRxiv | Notable detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| PNAS (flagship) | Posting permitted; not prior publication | Manual submission; author discloses DOI | Reviewers may see the preprint version directly |
| PNAS Nexus | Same NAS preprint stance | Listed bioRxiv B2J partner | Open-access companion journal, launched with OUP in 2022 |
| Nature (and most sister titles) | Preprints not treated as prior publication | Standard submission; not on bioRxiv’s B2J list | Separate “In Review” service via Research Square for some titles |
| eLife | Preprint posting required since Dec 2020 | Author-initiated transfer from bioRxiv Author Area (since 2017) | Since 2023, all reviewed papers are published as bioRxiv-linked Reviewed Preprints |
Common questions on bioRxiv journal submission
Does PNAS allow bioRxiv?
Yes. PNAS’s Standard License Terms and editorial policies explicitly state that posting on preprint servers such as arXiv or bioRxiv is permitted and does not count as prior publication. Authors must disclose the preprint and its DOI during submission, and the flagship title is submitted manually rather than via bioRxiv’s automated B2J transfer.
Who owns bioRxiv?
bioRxiv is operated by openRxiv, which describes itself as “a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing science communication.” It is independent of any single publisher, which is why individual journals — including flagship PNAS and Nature — must separately opt in to its B2J transfer list rather than automatically inheriting it.
Is eLife a preprint?
Not exactly. eLife is a journal whose reviewed output is published as a Reviewed Preprint — the underlying bioRxiv or medRxiv posting plus eLife’s public peer reviews and an eLife Assessment. Since its 2023 model change, eLife does not issue a separate accept/reject “Version of Record”; the linked preprint remains the article of record.
How long does a bioRxiv submission take?
bioRxiv’s own FAQ states manuscripts are screened and typically post within hours of submission, with full-text HTML and XML conversion following one to two days later. This screening checks for offensive or non-scientific content and biosecurity risk, not scientific validity — bioRxiv preprints are explicitly not peer-reviewed before posting.
What this means for authors and research offices
For corresponding authors, the practical takeaway is definitional precision: check whether a target journal is a bioRxiv B2J partner (automated transfer) or merely preprint-tolerant (manual submission plus disclosure) before assuming a “direct” route exists. The two are not interchangeable, and the difference determines whether re-uploading files is necessary.
For research administrators and institutional research offices tracking author compliance across preprint and published versions, the distinction also affects funder-mandate reporting: a bioRxiv posting satisfies green open-access requirements under policies such as those referenced by cOAlition S signatories, independent of whether the receiving journal later uses B2J or a manual route. Institutions monitoring this pipeline should treat “preprint accepted” and “direct B2J transfer available” as two separate checklist items, not one.
Journal-side preprint bridges will likely keep diverging rather than converging: bioRxiv’s B2J list continues to add peer-review services (such as Review Commons) alongside traditional journals, while eLife’s Reviewed Preprint model and Springer Nature’s In Review service represent journal-initiated alternatives built for transparency rather than upload convenience. Authors and research offices should expect to track policy pages per title rather than assume a single universal standard.