Metabolic and Stress Responses in Aquatic Animals (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Biology (ISSN 2079-7737). This special issue belongs to the section "Zoology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 346

Special Issue Editors


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IFAPA Centro Agua del Pino, 21450 Cartaya, Spain
Interests: fish biology; animal science; animal biology; fish physiology; aquaculture; physiology; fish stress and welfare; flatfishes
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Guest Editor
Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, Faculty of Biology, University of Barcelona, Avda. Diagonal 643, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: physiology; aquaculture; skin mucus; lipid metabolism; marine fish; acute stress; chronic stress; welfare
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Departament of Genetics, Physiology and Microbiology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University Complutense, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: welfare; physiology; aquatic animals; endocrinology; fish; cephalopods; energy metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Stress is a complex and multifactorial process present in all living beings. It can be considered as a defence mechanism that enables organisms to cope with abiotic and biotic stimuli (stressors) that modify their basal state. Stress responses typically include physiological actions that entail whole-body metabolisc processes to restore homeostasis through energy expenditure.

Aquatic animals inhabit environments with distinct physicochemical characteristics, which expose them to different stimuli. Due to the vast diversity of aquatic species, their metabolic responses to stress are varied. In general, animals present a series of primary responses—of endocrine origin—that stimulate deeper (secondary) actions requiring allostatic modifications in metabolism. Some of these responses include the mobilization of hormones, energy resources, activation of the immune system, or changes in the redox balance at the cellular level.

Studies on stress in fish, cephalopods, and other aquatic animals have gained increasing relevance in recent years due to the close relationship between stress and overall welfare. Such efforts have aimed at improving our knowledge on the welfare of these animals in captivity for both aquaculture and exhibition purposes. Although significant progress has been made, many aspects remain unclear, mainly due to the vast diversity of aquatic animals and their potential stressors.

Through this Special Issue, we encourage researchers and technicians to submit their articles in order to achieve a deeper understanding of stress and metabolic responses in aquatic animals. This Special Issue welcomes works related to physiological, endocrine, immunological, behavioural, and metabolic responses to stress in aquatic animals, including vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as wild and captive animals. Contributions involving animal welfare are of particular interest, in addition to those reporting new analytical techniques or procedures to address classical or common challenges.

Dr. Marcelino Herrera
Dr. Laura Fernández-Alacid
Dr. Ignacio Ruiz-Jarabo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • stress
  • metabolism
  • animal welfare
  • aquaculture
  • cephalopods
  • fish
  • molluscs
  • crustaceans
  • aquatic animals
  • animal physiology

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 4393 KB  
Article
Comparative Analysis of Muscle Metabolome and Amino Acid Profiles in All-Female Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from Different Germplasm Sources
by Tianqing Huang, Baorui Cao, Yunchao Sun, Enhui Liu, Wei Gu, Kaibo Ge, Gaochao Wang, Junran Tan, Guoqing Pan, Fuyang Bi, Datian Li, Peng Fan and Gefeng Xu
Biology 2025, 14(11), 1613; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14111613 - 18 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is an economically important fish species, in which the muscle nutritional composition of market-size fish can vary significantly due to differences in genetic background and breeding environments. This study employed a metabolomics approach to conduct an in-depth [...] Read more.
Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is an economically important fish species, in which the muscle nutritional composition of market-size fish can vary significantly due to differences in genetic background and breeding environments. This study employed a metabolomics approach to conduct an in-depth comparative analysis of muscle samples from our independently bred new variety “All-Female No. 1”, as well as Spanish and Danish all-female strains. A total of 2198 metabolites were identified. Following screening with PCA and PLS-DA, 228 differential metabolites were obtained. These were most abundantly enriched in the categories of organic acids and derivatives, benzene and substituted derivatives, and amino acids and metabolites. KEGG pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the differential metabolites had the most significant impact on the phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis pathway. Further targeted quantification of amino acid metabolites identified 11 differentially expressed amino acids, which also exerted the strongest influence on this key pathway. Consequently, L-tyrosine, tryptamine, and L-phenylalanine were determined to be the key metabolites affecting the phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan biosynthesis pathway in the muscle of rainbow trout from different germplasms. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the nutritional value, particularly regarding amino acid profiles, of rainbow trout from different genetic sources, offering critical data and a scientific basis for subsequent related research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Metabolic and Stress Responses in Aquatic Animals (2nd Edition))
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