Animal Nutrition: Latest Advances and Prospects
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Science and Technology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 February 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editors
Interests: dairy; starch; fiber
Interests: dairy cattle nutrition; dairy cattle production; calves growth; ruminant nutrition; methane mitigation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Animal nutrition remains a cornerstone of modern animal agriculture, shaping not only growth and productivity but also animal health, product quality, economic performance, and environmental impact. In light of pressing global concerns—ranging from climate change and antimicrobial resistance to the need for more sustainable sources of animal-derived foods—advances in nutritional science are more critical than ever. The field is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by novel feed technologies, precision feeding strategies, biofunctional compounds, and digital tools that together support more efficient and resilient production systems.
This Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality original research, comprehensive reviews, and insightful case studies that reflect the latest scientific progress and emerging trends in animal nutrition. The scope is intentionally broad and interdisciplinary, welcoming contributions related to monogastric and ruminant nutrition, aquaculture, and companion animals. Particular attention is given to innovative feedstuffs, nutrient metabolism and efficiency, gut health, the use of functional additives, omics-based approaches, and nutritional strategies aimed at improving sustainability and animal welfare.
By assembling contributions from leading experts and research groups, this Special Issue seeks to promote knowledge dissemination, stimulate cross-sector collaboration, and inspire future innovations in the science and practice of animal nutrition.
Scope of the Special Issue
- Development of novel feed ingredients and processing technologies
- Precision feeding systems and digital applications in nutrition
- Interactions between diet and gut microbiota
- Mechanisms of nutrient digestion, metabolism, and bioavailability
- Use of functional additives (e.g., enzymes, prebiotics, phytochemicals, probiotics)
- Nutritional approaches to enhance animal health and welfare
- Environmentally focused feeding strategies and mitigation of emissions
- Diet formulation for disease prevention and performance optimization
- Modeling, simulation, and decision-support tools in nutritional planning
- Utilization of agro-industrial byproducts
Dr. Polyana Pizzi Rotta
Prof. Dr. Alex Lopes da Silva
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. Applied Sciences 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
- animal nutrition
- feed additives
- nutrient metabolism
- gut health
- feed efficiency
- precision feeding
- sustainable livestock production
- functional ingredients
- climate-smart nutrition
- microbiome
- digital agriculture
- ruminants
- monogastrics
- aquafeed
- feed innovation
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