Genetic Insights into Immunity and Pathogen Resistance

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 March 2026 | Viewed by 181

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CIBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Vairão, Portugal
Interests: immunogenetics; pathogens; evolution

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CIBIO—Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Vairão, Portugal
Interests: immunology biochemistry & molecular biology; genetics & heredity veterinary sciences; zoology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the face of global health threats, including emerging infectious diseases, zoonotic spillover events, and the rise in antimicrobial resistance, understanding the genetic mechanisms that underly immunity and pathogens has become a pressing priority. Advances in genomic research are transforming our understanding of immune regulation, host–pathogen interactions, and the genetic basis of disease susceptibility across individuals and species. From single-nucleotide polymorphisms to large-scale immunogenomic datasets, these insights are driving advances in vaccine development, immunotherapy, and personalized medicine.

This Special Issue on “Genetic Insights into Immunity and Pathogen Resistance” aims to present cutting-edge research exploring how genetic variation shapes immune responses across model and non-model organisms, including humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. We encourage submissions investigating functional and evolutionary immunogenetics, host–pathogen coevolution, and immune evasion strategies. Interdisciplinary research bridging genetics with ecology, conservation, veterinary, and biomedical sciences is strongly encouraged. Submissions may include, but are not limited to, the following themes:

1. Functional and Evolutionary Genetics of Immunity—Genetic diversity in immune-related genes and their impact on disease susceptibility.
2. Host–Pathogen Coevolution—Mechanisms of pathogen immune evasion or host resistance genes under selection pressure.
3. Emerging Technologies—Applications of CRISPR screening, single-cell sequencing, GWASs, or AI-driven genomics in immunology.
4. Translational Medicine—Genetics-based vaccine design, immunotherapies, or personalized antimicrobial strategies.

Researchers are invited to submit original research articles, reviews, and short communications. Contribute to this timely collection and help illuminate the genetic mechanisms driving immune function and disease resilience across biological systems.

Dr. Fabiana Neves
Dr. Tereza Almeida
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. Genes 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 2600 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

  • immunogenetics
  • host–pathogen coevolution
  • genetic variation
  • functional genomics
  • comparative immunology
  • CRISPR
  • pathogen resistance
  • evolutionary immunology
  • epigenetics
  • genome-wide association studies (GWASs)

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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