When conducting quality checks on manuscripts containing cropped gel and Western Blot images, we ask authors to provide their raw and originally saved image files for evaluation. As a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics, we also apply the appropriate guidelines and policies to ensure that cropped gel and Western Blot images do not contain manipulated features, which ultimately, would change the conclusion of the article. This is achieved in collaboration with our assigned Editors who provide insight, using their specific expertise to help guarantee the scientific integrity and quality of Frontiers journals. In the Frontiers Research Integrity department, we ensure that published images maintain strong scientific integrity. It is best practice to save un-edited, originally captured image files so they are available to share upon request. Such cases are of concern when cropping the captured gel or Western Blot image changes the scientific inferences made from the image. This can occur when parts of the image, such as specific bands or lanes are cropped, extracted, and then pasted onto another area of the image. In cases where duplicated features are detected or inappropriate editing is applied, red flags are raised about the integrity of the image. Gel and Western Blot cropping can be problematic. Here is an example of acceptable Western Blot cropping, where the membrane itself has been spliced (original and unedited):įigure 3: Acceptable Western Blot membrane cropping Here is an example of acceptable Western Blot image splicing, where irrelevant parts of the Western Blot images were cropped and presented to make the splicing clear to readers:įigure 2: Acceptable Western Blot image splicing Only the captured image may be cropped to only present the area of interest. In some cases, the membrane itself may be spliced after protein transfer and staining and then probed with antibodies to reduce the volume of reagents needed for the experiment. The cropping process removes irrelevant parts of the captured image and presents only the proteins of interest. It is common practice to crop a gel or Western Blot image to present in research publications. Below is an example of a full length, unedited original Western Blot image: Once complete, a digital image is then captured and saved to present later on, often in a manuscript. For Western Blot experiments, the separated proteins are then transferred onto a nitrocellulose or PVDF membrane for further preparation with antibodies specific to the proteins of interest and finally analyzed in a special imaging machine. Both of these experiments involve preparing the samples in question, followed by gel electrophoresis. The experiments might detect the protein being expressed in cancer cells, but not healthy cells and vice versa, helping researchers to understand the disease further. For example, if researchers investigating pancreatic cancer suspect a particular protein might be involved in the disease, a series of Western Blot experiments could help to compare the expression of the protein in both cancer cells and normal healthy cells. Gels are often used for studying nucleic acids while Western Blots are used to visualize and study proteins. Gels and Western Blots are used in molecular biology laboratories to identify and analyze macromolecules such as nucleic acids and proteins in a sample. But from time to time, we do encounter issues**.** It is important, then, that authors submit figures correctly and to the standards expected of quality scientific literature. Figures and images are a key component of many research papers. In this blog, we take a closer look at gel and Western Blot image cropping. Since last year, the Frontiers Research Integrity team has followed up on more than 4,000 manuscripts containing cropped gel and Western Blot images which required additional scrutiny. Author: Bushra Khair, Research Integrity Specialist
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