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Animals
Special Issues
Genomics for Camelid Biodiversity Management and Conservation
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Genomics for Camelid Biodiversity Management and Conservation

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 December 2025 | Viewed by 2988

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Carlos Iglesias Pastrana

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Guest Editor
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Cordoba, Spain
Interests: genetic diversity; conservation; minor/rare livestock; camelids; ruminants; wildlife; endangered genetic resources; genomic selection; animal biotechnology; genome-wide association study; animal behavior; animal cognition; animal welfare; animal-assisted interventions
Prof. Dr. Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Genetics, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Córdoba, 14071 Cordoba, Spain
Interests: animal breeding; animal genetics; animal biotechnology; quantitative genetics; inbreeding; genetic diversity; meat science & technology; genomic selection; genome-wide association study; dairy science; cattle; pig
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Elena Ciani

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Guest Editor
Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Biopharmaceutics, University of Bari, Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy
Interests: population genetics; population genomics; conservation genetics; livestock products traceability; selection signatures; marker assisted selection; genome-wide association study; animal biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Camelidae family comprises the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus), the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius), and four species of South American camelids (llama (Lama glama), alpaca (Lama pacos), guanaco (Lama guanicoe), and vicuña (Vicugna vicugna). These species thrive in diverse and challenging environments, from arid regions to high-altitude landscapes, and are increasingly valued for their exceptional adaptive traits in global livestock production.

Understanding camelid genetics is essential for sustainable breeding practices in the current scenario, ensuring the health, welfare, and productivity of these animals amidst environmental challenges and social demands. Genomic tools enable comprehensive studies of genetic diversity, population structure, and genetic underpinnings of important traits, critical for effective management and conservation efforts in livestock scenarios.

In this Special Issue, we invite submissions of original research articles, reviews, and methodological studies aimed at advancing our understanding of existing camelid biodiversity and the genetic mechanisms underlying these species, as well as the ethical, economic, and social implications of historical and modern selection in camelid breeding and production. This knowledge will facilitate the development and implementation of tailored approaches that contribute to the sustainable and ethical advancement of the camelid industry.

Dr. Carlos Iglesias Pastrana
Prof. Dr. Juan Vicente Delgado Bermejo
Dr. Elena Ciani
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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

  • camelids
  • genetic diversity
  • genomics
  • population genetics
  • genome-wide association study
  • conservation biology
  • adaptive traits
  • sustainable breeding
  • animal welfare

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 7113 KB  
Article
Multi-Omics Profiling Identifies Apolipoprotein E as an Important Regulator of Steroidogenesis in Bactrian Camel Poll Glands During the Breeding Season
by Qi Ma, Bohao Zhang, Jianfu Li and Quanwei Zhang
Animals 2025, 15(21), 3147; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15213147 - 30 Oct 2025
Viewed by 283
Abstract
Camel poll gland tissues (PGs) secrete amber liquid and volatile substances during the breeding season, inducing estrus and mating in female camels. These processes are mainly regulated by steroid hormones and their receptors, including the Androgen Receptor (AR). However, the functional components of [...] Read more.
Camel poll gland tissues (PGs) secrete amber liquid and volatile substances during the breeding season, inducing estrus and mating in female camels. These processes are mainly regulated by steroid hormones and their receptors, including the Androgen Receptor (AR). However, the functional components of PGs and their regulatory mechanisms in camel reproduction remain unclear. Therefore, in this study, we identified candidate differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) associated with steroids through a multi-omics analysis of PGs during the male camel breeding season. We found that total cholesterol and testosterone concentrations were significantly increased in camel PGs at different stages of the breeding season. DEMs and DEPs related to cholesterol or steroids were analyzed using metabolomics and data-independent acquisition proteomics in the PGs of male Bactrian camels at different stages (early and peak breeding seasons), and the potential mechanism of steroid hormone synthesis was further explored. The metabolomics results identified 13 DEMs related to steroids in PGs at different stages. The proteomics results revealed seven GO terms and 69 DEPs related to steroids, with apolipoprotein E (APOE) identified as the core DEP. Pathway analysis confirmed that APOE and related DEPs were involved in cholesterol and steroid hormone synthesis. Immunostaining showed that APOE and AR were co-localized in the cytoplasm of acinar epithelial cells, and exhibited opposite expression trends in PGs during different breeding stages. These findings demonstrate that APOE- and AR-mediated cholesterol metabolism plays an important role in steroid hormone synthesis during camel reproductive activity, providing valuable insights into the mechanisms of steroid synthesis in PGs. This study offers a theoretical framework for understanding camel reproductive biology, particularly the interplay between APOE and AR in regulating cholesterol metabolism and steroidogenesis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomics for Camelid Biodiversity Management and Conservation)
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15 pages, 1347 KB  
Article
Phylogenetic Analysis of Indian Dromedary Breeds Based on the Mitochondrial D-Loop Marker
by Sagar Ashok Khulape, Carlos Iglesias Pastrana, Ratan Kumar Choudhary, Shyam Sundar Choudhary, Rakesh Ranjan, Kashi Nath, Rakesh Kumar Poonia, Samar Kumar Ghorui and Anil Kumar Puniya
Animals 2025, 15(21), 3070; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15213070 - 23 Oct 2025
Viewed by 429
Abstract
The mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) region is a non-coding control region that plays a crucial role in replication and transcription, serving as an informative marker for evolutionary and demographic studies. In this study, the complete mitochondrial D-loop sequences from NCBI public database were [...] Read more.
The mitochondrial displacement loop (D-loop) region is a non-coding control region that plays a crucial role in replication and transcription, serving as an informative marker for evolutionary and demographic studies. In this study, the complete mitochondrial D-loop sequences from NCBI public database were analyzed across nine Indian and other dromedary populations. Evolutionary and pairwise sequence analysis indicate distinct separation from foreign populations and substantive clustering of Indian breeds within a monophyletic clade. Indian breeds showed greater than 99.4% sequence identity, minimal diversity (π ≈ 0.003), and limited divergence (k = 3–4), whereas Arabian and Iranian populations exhibited more prominent variability (π ≈ 0.004–0.0044; k ≈ 5). Nucleotide composition analyses corroborated the AT-rich nature of the D-loop with conserved sequence length and enrichment of CpG motifs. This suggests selective conservation of functional elements in the D-loop sequence region. Correlation and correspondence analyses highlighted non-random nucleotide usage and repeat dynamics consistent with replication-associated mutational pressures. Demographic structural diversity showed that nearly all genetic variation was distributed among populations (~99.9%), with minimal variation within breeds. Pairwise differentiation values indicated substantial divergence between Indian and foreign breeds, with Indian desert breeds displaying restricted differentiation, possibly due to shared maternal ancestry. Neutrality test results for the sequence dataset interpreted ongoing demographic expansion or bottleneck recovery for the Arabian, Iranian, Sindhi, and Kharai populations. In contrast, for other Indian desert breeds, the neutrality test values that were closing towards zero may express current population shrinkage. Conserved transcription factor binding motifs further support the role of purifying selection on sequence functional constraints. These findings highlight that Indian dromedaries bear highly conserved mitochondrial D-loop sequences, which are influenced by purifying selection and demographic stability. This low mitochondrial diversity in non-coding sequence can mirror the declining population size and emphasizes the urgent need for targeted conservation strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomics for Camelid Biodiversity Management and Conservation)
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20 pages, 9240 KB  
Article
In Silico Analysis of Temperature-Induced Structural, Stability, and Flexibility Modulations in Camel Cytochrome c
by Heba A. Alkhatabi, Mohammad Alhashmi, Hind Ali Alkhatabi and Hisham N. Altayb
Animals 2025, 15(3), 381; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15030381 - 28 Jan 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1541
Abstract
Cytochrome c is a critical protein in energy metabolism, and its structural adaptations to different temperatures play a key role in enabling species like the wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) and the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) to thrive in [...] Read more.
Cytochrome c is a critical protein in energy metabolism, and its structural adaptations to different temperatures play a key role in enabling species like the wild Bactrian camel (Camelus ferus) and the Arabian camel (Camelus dromedarius) to thrive in their respective cold and hot environments. This study investigates the structural, thermodynamic, and dynamic properties of cytochrome c at different temperatures. Thermal Titration Molecular Dynamics (TTMD) simulations, which involve analyzing protein behaviour across a range of temperatures, were carried out using GROMACS, with each simulation running for 100 nanoseconds, at 245 K, 280 K, 303 K, 308 K, and 320 K, to evaluate stability and flexibility. Structural alterations were indicated by an increase in root mean square deviations (RMSDs) to 0.4 nm at 320 K, as opposed to lower RMSD values (0.1–0.2 nm) at 245 K and 280 K. Root mean square fluctuation (RMSF) analyses revealed modest flexibility at 245 K and 280 K (0.1–0.2 nm) but considerable flexibility (0.3–0.4 nm) at 303 K and 320 K. Principal component analysis (PCA) found that the formational space was constrained at lower temperatures but expanded at higher temperatures. Entropy peaked at 280 K (13,816 J/mol) and then fell substantially at 320 K (451.765 J/mol), indicating diminished stability. These findings highlight cytochrome c adaptations for cold stability in Camelus ferus and thermal resilience in Camelus dromedarius, showing evolutionary strategies for harsh conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genomics for Camelid Biodiversity Management and Conservation)
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