Metabolic Research in Animal Nutrition and Production, 2nd Edition
A special issue of Metabolites (ISSN 2218-1989). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Metabolism".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 922
Special Issue Editors
Interests: nutritional metabolism and digestive physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: metabolic reprogramming in health and disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Metabolism—the network of biochemical reactions sustaining life—underpins growth, reproduction, adaptation, and health across species. While metabolic studies have become central to biomedical science, research on the metabolism of farmed animals, particularly special economic animals (e.g., fur-bearing animals, deer, rabbits) and companion animals (e.g., dogs, cats, horses), remains comparatively limited. Yet, these species are increasingly important in agriculture, veterinary practice, and the broader One Health framework linking animal and human health.
As in livestock and humans, metabolism in these animals provides the energy and molecular precursors essential for maintenance, production, and resilience under environmental challenges. Elucidating metabolic regulation therefore offers powerful tools for optimizing nutrient utilization, evaluating feed efficiency, monitoring physiological status, diagnosing diseases, and advancing animal welfare. Given the distinctive biological traits of these species and their close interactions with humans, advancing metabolic research in this domain is both challenging and highly relevant.
This Research Topic seeks to provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances and emerging frontiers in metabolism research in special economic and companion animals. We welcome original research articles, systematic reviews, perspectives, and methodological studies that expand our understanding of metabolism in these species. The article using with LC-MS, NMR, fluxomics will be recommended to the journal as a priority.Areas of particular interest include, but are not limited to:
- Nutrient metabolism and efficiency: metabolic responses regulating nutrition, growth, reproduction, fur/antler production, and welfare.
- Health and disease applications: metabolic biomarkers and metabolomics for phenotypic characterization, health assessment, and disease diagnosis.
- Metabolic reprogramming: adaptive and maladaptive metabolic changes under stresses, infections, inflammatory diseases, or aging.
- Microbiome–host interactions: roles of microbial metabolism in nutrient absorption, immunity, and systemic metabolic health.
- Immunometabolism: metabolic regulation of immune responses during infection, inflammation, and tissue repair.
- Omics and systems approaches: integration of metabolomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and fluxomics to support precision nutrition and health monitoring.
- Comparative and translational perspectives: interconnections between animal and human metabolism, with implications for food safety, zoonotic disease, and One Health in farming and pet-owning households.
By assembling diverse contributions across these themes, this Research Topic aims to highlight the central role of metabolism in animal biology, promote interdisciplinary dialogue between agricultural, veterinary, and biomedical sciences, and stimulate new research directions. Ultimately, we hope this collection will provide a foundation for advancing both production efficiency and companion animal health within a One Health perspective.
Dr. Tietao Zhang
Dr. Qingkui Jiang
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metabolites 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
- special economic animals
- companion animals
- nutrition
- metabolomics
- microbiome
- metabolites
- animal nutrition
- animal production
- animal health and disease
- metabolic phenotypes
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