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Current Advances in Echinoderm Research (2nd Edition)
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Current Advances in Echinoderm Research (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2026 | Viewed by 376

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Muyan Chen

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Guest Editor
The Key Laboratory of Mariculture, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003, China
Interests: molecular physiology; echinoderm; hypometabolism; aestivation; thermal stress; hypoxia; neurophysiology; sensory system; osmoregulation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Xiutang Yuan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Environmental Processes, Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai 264003, China
Interests: sea cucumber; shellfish; ocean acidification and warming; environmental factors; human impacts; environmental pollution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Echinoderms, a group of non-chordate deuterostomes, bridge the evolutionary gap between protostomes and chordates. As key components of marine ecosystems, they play vital roles in the ocean food chain and contribute to numerous ecological processes. These organisms are renowned for their remarkable regenerative capacity in adult organs, diverse body types, variability in collagenous tissues, and unique phylogenetic position. Beyond their ecological and evolutionary significance, certain echinoderms hold substantial economic and medical value. Despite extensive research, many aspects of their biology remain unexplored.

Advancing our understanding of echinoderms and their environmental interactions—including the impacts of climate change and human activities on their communities—requires diverse methodologies. Classical and novel approaches such as microscopy, molecular biology, bioinformatics, biochemical analyses, and chemical studies can yield valuable insights. The following Special Issue invites contributions highlighting innovative research on echinoderm ecology, morphology, physiology, biodiversity, pathology, evolution, reproduction, development, immunology, and related fields, including aquaculture applications.

Prof. Dr. Muyan Chen
Prof. Dr. Xiutang Yuan
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. Biology is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2700 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

  • echinoderms
  • sea cucumbers
  • starfish
  • brittle stars
  • sea urchins

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 1000 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Parent Pairs with Different Genetic Distances on the Genetic Diversity of Offspring in Strongylocentrotus intermedius
by Peng Liu, Xuechun Jiang, Hao Guo, Tongshan Jia, Shuaichen Wu, Fanjiang Ou, Wenzhuo Tian, Lei Liu, Yaqing Chang, Jun Ding and Weijie Zhang
Biology 2025, 14(7), 745; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14070745 - 23 Jun 2025
Viewed by 242
Abstract
To identify effective strategies for preserving the genetic diversity of Strongylocentrotus intermedius populations, this study employed 15 SSR loci and SSR-seq technology to construct three parental mating groups based on different genetic distances: relatively distant (0.33640), relatively close (0.13051), and mixed (0.29916). These [...] Read more.
To identify effective strategies for preserving the genetic diversity of Strongylocentrotus intermedius populations, this study employed 15 SSR loci and SSR-seq technology to construct three parental mating groups based on different genetic distances: relatively distant (0.33640), relatively close (0.13051), and mixed (0.29916). These mating groups were used to produce three corresponding offspring populations: the distant group (D), the close group (C), and the mixed group (M). A total of 150 offspring from these populations were genotyped to analyze the effects of parental genetic distance on the genetic diversity of their offspring. The results showed that the observed allele number (Na) in the D and M groups was 4.200 and 4.733, respectively, both lower than the parental family population (FP) group (5.000) but higher than the C group (3.571). The effective allele number (Ne) in the D and M groups was 2.782 and 2.728, respectively, slightly below that of the parental FP group (2.816) but greater than the C group (2.211). Similarly, the observed heterozygosity (Ho) in the D and M groups was 0.496 and 0.488, respectively, both below that of the parental FP group (0.522) but above the C group (0.447). The expected heterozygosity (He) in the D and M groups was 0.586 and 0.579, respectively, slightly lower than the parental FP group (0.595) but higher than the C group (0.487). Additionally, the polymorphism information content (PIC) in the D and M groups was 0.530 and 0.531, respectively, indicating high polymorphism, although slightly lower than the parental FP group (0.546) and significantly higher than the C group (0.438). These findings indicate that the genetic diversity of all the three offspring populations declined to varying degrees compared to the parental population, with the C group experiencing the most severe reduction. In contrast, the D and M groups maintained comparably higher levels of genetic diversity, which were comparable to each other. This study underscores the importance of increasing the genetic distance between parents or adopting mixed mating strategies to sustain genetic diversity in breeding populations. These approaches are recommended for future breeding programs to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainability of genetic resources. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Current Advances in Echinoderm Research (2nd Edition))
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