Genetic Basis of Thermoregulation in Animal Agriculture
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2024 | Viewed by 217
Special Issue Editors
Interests: molecular biology; genetics; biochemistry; microbiology; DNA repair; DNA damage response; homologous recombination
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Heat stress is a sustainability challenge for the animal industry and the rise in global temperatures will likely worsen this problem. When animals experience high heat load, they face increased discomfort, reduced production and fertility, increased disease risk, and, in extreme cases, mortality. In combination, these changes lead to poor welfare, raising public concerns as animal well-being is compromised. In addition, it reduces the economic viability of the enterprise and increases the environmental footprint due to poor efficiency. Heat stress reduces animal protein production, thus threatening food security globally. Identifying animals experiencing high heat load and adopting appropriate mitigation strategies can improve animal welfare and the viability of production systems. The most common heat abatement strategies involve modifications on animal housing such as shade, fans, and sprayed water, which all rely on extensive use of natural resources and energy. However, identifying and selecting animals that are more resilient to the hot weather within our production systems can be a more efficient method to achieve sustainability. Therefore, the first step to selecting heat-stress-resilient animals is understanding the genetic basis of thermoregulation. Recognizing the role of genes and pathways associated with heat stress resilience is critical for selecting individuals that can cope better with increasing temperatures. In addition, identifying biomarkers can speed up the selection and assessment of animals experiencing high heat load. In this Special Issue, we welcome original research articles and review papers pertaining to livestock, poultry, and fish. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: genome-wide association studies (GWAS), genomics, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), genotype × environment interaction studies (G × E), transcriptomics, proteomics, genomic selection, gene editing, and functional studies of GWAS. We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. João Pedro Vieira-Da-Rocha
Dr. Grazyne Tresoldi
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- heat stress
- production animals
- SNPs
- GWAS
- transcriptomics
- genomics
- functional studies
- gene editing
- genomic selection
- G × E
