Omics-Guided Food Fermentation and Microbial Biotechnology: From Strain Design to Sustainable Product Development
A special issue of Fermentation (ISSN 2311-5637). This special issue belongs to the section "Fermentation Process Design".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 March 2027 | Viewed by 33
Editors
Interests: molecular microbiology; synthetic biology; food safety; probiotics; food biotechnology; antimicrobials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: probiotics; functional foods; fermentation; food biotechnology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Food fermentation plays a pivotal role in improving food safety, preservation, nutritional value, and sensory quality. In recent years, the application of systems biology and multi-omics technologies has significantly advanced our understanding of microbial metabolism, community dynamics, and functional pathways involved in fermentation processes. These approaches enable the rational design of microbial strains, optimization of fermentation conditions, and improved control of product quality and safety.
At the same time, growing interest in sustainable food systems has encouraged the exploration of fermentation for waste valorization, converting agro-industrial by-products into value-added ingredients, bioactive compounds, and functional foods. Additionally, innovations in probiotic characterization, microencapsulation technologies, and functional food development have opened new opportunities to enhance microbial stability, bioavailability, and health benefits in fermented products.
This Special Issue aims to highlight recent advances in omics-driven fermentation research and microbial biotechnology, with particular emphasis on sustainable bioprocessing, functional microorganisms, and innovative fermented food products. By integrating systems biology with applied food science approaches, this Special Issue will provide insights into how microbial metabolism can be harnessed to develop novel fermented foods, improve probiotic functionality, and transform food waste into valuable resources.
Original research articles and reviews addressing fundamental and applied aspects of food fermentation are welcome. Research areas may include, but not limited to, the following:
- Multi-omics integration in fermentation microbiomes;
- Genomic and metabolic engineering of starter cultures;
- Fermentation-based waste valorization and circular bioeconomy;
- Metabolomic profiling of flavor, aroma, and bioactive compounds;
- Probiotic characterization and functional evaluation of fermented microorganisms;
- Encapsulation technologies for probiotics and bioactive compounds;
- Systems biology approaches for strain optimization;
- Real-time process monitoring using omics-derived biomarkers;
- Microbial interaction networks in mixed-culture fermentations;
- Development of innovative fermented foods and functional products.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Prof. Dr. Yanglei Yi
Dr. Bo 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. Fermentation 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 2100 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
- systems biology
- omics
- food fermentation
- strain design
- process control
- metabolomics
- genomics
- microbiome
- food biotechnology
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