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Introduction
The Revista Mexicana de Micología (RMM) was originally published in 1968 as Boletín Informativo de la Sociedad Mexicana de Micología, a name that it conserved for its first three volumes (1968-1969). Under the subsequent name of Boletín de la Sociedad Mexicana de Micología, 17 volumes (Vol. 4-20) were published from 1971-1984. Initially, the purpose of this publication was to cover the activities of the Mycological Society, but it soon transformed into a scientific journal thanks to the drive and commitment of the first editors (Drs. Teófilo Herrera and Gastón Guzmán) as well as the academic quality of the studies published. In 1985, the Boletín de la Sociedad Mexicana de Micología changed its name to Revista Mexicana de Micología, under which 44 volumes were published until December 2016.
The RMM grew from a solid base, which allowed the journal to project itself with appropriate recognition of its trajectory. Its incorporation in 2007 into the Mexican Index of Scientific and Technological Journals of the National Council of Science and Technology (Conacyt) was an important step in its consolidation. It is also registered in several databases and international indices such as Biological Abstracts, Latindex, Periodica, Redalyc and SciElo Mexico. The year 2016 brought new challenges to the publication; the publishing institution was renewed, ceasing to exist as the Mexican Society of Mycology (SMM) and giving way to the constitution of the Mexican Association for the Study of Fungi (AMEH). In this sense, and taking advantage of the conjuncture represented by the renewal of the AMEH, the Editorial Board has proposed to redefine the approach and scope of the journal, giving it a more universalist perspective, with an editorial concept that reaches beyond Mexico - as was emphasized by the title - and proposed a Latin name that reaffirms the integral and universal character of science. Thus, Revista Mexicana de Micología gives way to Scientia Fungorum, a new stage of the only specialized mycology journal in Latin America.
Type and thematic of contributions
In 49 uninterrupted years of edition, the RMM had been open to all topics in mycology, always taking care of the quality of papers and the peer review process. During the period 1968-2016, the RMM published 773 papers with the participation of 936 authors and more than 150 institutions from 27 countries in America, Europe, Africa and Asia (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, France, Germany, Guatemala, Holland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, South Africa, Spain, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America and Venezuela).
With respect to the themes published, contributions on ethnomycology and biodiversity have appeared since the first volume of the RMM. Some subjects have had a limited periodicity, undoubtedly related to the participation to the publishing authors, while others have appeared more recently, such as those addressing mushroom cultivation in the 1980s and more recent molecular biology based studies. Nearly half of the contributions have focused on biodiversity, although there have also been strong contributions in the fields of phytopathology, mushroom cultivation and medical mycology (Figure 1).
The RMM published a total of 773 manuscripts, 659 corresponding to original studies, 51 to short communications, 16 to review papers and 47 miscellaneous articles, including semblances, obituaries, editorials, etc. (Figure 2).
The challenge for Scientia Fungorum
The RMM was a rare case, not only in Mexico but across Latin America, since it is a challenge to maintain an academic publication in an uninterrupted manner for a period of 49 years. The different Editorial Committees have had to overcome many difficulties in order to establish the publication, but the editorial record justifies the effort invested.
In this context, and in the light of the challenges implied by the development of information technologies for scientific communication, Scientia Fungorum emerges as a new project the main objective of which is to improve the position of the journal in international databases, for which purpose the development of the following three lines of action is proposed:
Establish a transition plan from RMM to the journal Scientia Fungorum, giving continuity to the achievements and prestige of RMM. The new name of the journal, Scientia Fungorum, is a Latin name that can include all areas of mycology and contains no appellation to any particular region or country. It is considered that this can contribute to the internationalization of the journal and - in the long term - will allow it access to the main international databases. In addition to restructuring of the Editorial Committee, work will be carried out on the web design of the official site, incorporating the new name of the journal, but with the objective of retaining editorial continuity.
Make adjustments to the editorial policy of the journal, since a diagnosis identified the need to clarify the mechanisms and guidelines under which the journal operates. In this sense, changes will be made in areas such as the journal focus and scope, section policy, peer review process, open access policies, rights of readers and author and nomination policies.
Improve the visibility of the journal. With the opportunity for changing the name of the journal and the fact that it is conceived as the only specialized mycology journal for general publication in Latin America, a solid dissemination campaign will be developed to establish and promote the journal name worldwide. Considering that it will be an electronic journal, the broadcast campaign should be focused on digital media. It is possible that - with this change of name - entry of Scientia Fungorum into Scopus and the Core Collection of WoS may take a little more time. For this reason, it is necessary to implement a strategy to advance the development of a content and analysis review of information designed to select relevant texts within the thematic area of the journal; i.e., to identify relevant contributions, which will require prompt edition and subjection to a solid peer review process.
The future now
Like many other current scientific journals, Scientia Fungorum will have an exclusively electronic format, and there will be no printed copy version. From the second half of 2017, the new Scientia Fungorum website will use the Open Journal System electronic manager, which will improve the quality of communication with authors and readers. In addition, all of the editorial production of RMM published during its 49 years of existence will be available in full format (pdf) and with free access. With the proposal to increase the visibility of Scientia Fungorum and rapidly incorporate the journal into Scopus and the Core Collection of WoS bibliographic information databases, the authors will be actively encouraged to submit their manuscripts in English, although papers written in Spanish will still be accepted.
