Advances in Genetic Improvement of Aquacultural Species

Dear Colleagues,

Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector in global food production and plays a vital role in ensuring food security and sustainable development. Genetic improvement provides powerful strategies to enhance key traits such as growth, disease resistance, reproduction, stress tolerance, and product quality. With the rapid advancement of genomic technologies—including whole-genome sequencing, genome-wide association studies (GWASs), genomic selection, transcriptomics, and genome editing—aquacultural breeding is shifting from traditional approaches to precision-based, technology-driven improvements. These advances are not only improving our understanding of important traits but also accelerating the application of modern breeding strategies.

We welcome original research articles, reviews, and short communications that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• The conservation, utilization, and enhancement of genetic resources in aquaculture;
• The integration of multi-omics technologies for trait characterization and discovery;
• The identification and functional validation of genes and molecular markers linked to breeding traits;
• The genomic selection and the optimization of breeding programs;
• Applications of genome editing in the genetic improvement of aquacultural species.

This Special Issue will bring together contributions from researchers worldwide to share the latest progress, foster knowledge exchange, and promote sustainable development in aquaculture through genetic innovation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Haiyang Liu
Dr. Wanchang Zhang
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-anonymized 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.