The journal publishes papers on all functional and evolutionary aspects of genes, chromatin, chromosomes and (meta)genomes of marine (and freshwater) organisms. It deals with new genome-enabled insights into the broader framework of environmental science. Topics within the scope of this journal include:
• Population genomics and ecology
• Evolutionary and developmental genomics
• Comparative genomics
• Metagenomics
• Environmental genomics
• Systems biology

More specific topics include: geographic and phylogenomic characterization of aquatic organisms, metabolic capacities and pathways of organisms and communities, biogeochemical cycles, genomics and integrative approaches applied to microbial ecology including (meta)transcriptomics and (meta)proteomics, tracking of infectious diseases, environmental stress, global climate change and ecosystem modelling.