Special Issue "Novel Earthworm Model for the Effects of Environmental Pollutants on the Regulation of Genes, Metabolism, and Immunity"

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Risk Assessment and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Martina Hockner
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Zoology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
Interests: stress response and gene regulation; stress physiology; immunity

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Earthworms are soil-dwelling invertebrates that are highly important in terrestrial ecosystems and of big value for functional soil ecology and health. However, due to their soil-dwelling lifestyle, earthworms are particularly exposed to a variety of environmental stressors ranging from natural fluctuations of biotic and abiotic factors to adverse chemical impacts, which can partly be attributed to anthropogenic involvement.

Having a coordinated environmental pollution response network at the molecular level is of major importance to earthworms for inducing general and specific coping mechanisms, which can lead to their adaptation to changing environmental conditions. In this regard, metabolism is of major importance as the key system for preserving body functions. Components of the immune system are not only involved in defending pathogens but also in supporting the environmental pollution response.

This highlights the value of research on earthworms with respect to conservation biology in addition to the effects of environmental pollution in rapidly changing terrestrial environments.

The aim of this Special Issue is to further our understanding of environmental pollution effects on gene regulation, metabolism, and immunity in earthworms as discerned from basic and applied research, mechanistic studies, omics approaches as well as comparative investigations.

Dr. Martina Hockner
Guest Editor

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 papers will be 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. Toxics 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 1600 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

  • earthworm
  • environmental pollution
  • gene regulation
  • metabolism
  • immunity
  • adaptation
  • pollution
  • stressor
  • chemicals

Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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