Functional Genomics and Precision Breeding for Disease Resistance in Swine

Dear Colleagues,

Infectious diseases pose a persistent challenge to global swine production, driving the urgent need for genetic and genomic solutions that enhance resistance and resilience. This Special Issue, Functional Genomics and Precision Breeding for Disease Resistance in Swine, brings together cutting-edge research on the genetic, epigenetic and molecular mechanisms underlying disease resistance and resilience in pigs. We aim to showcase how functional genomics, multi-omics integration, genome editing and advanced genomic selection can be strategically combined to improve animal health, welfare and sustainable production systems.

By serving as an interdisciplinary forum, this issue will bridge veterinary medicine, animal genetics, immunology, genomics, bioinformatics and swine production. Contributions that translate molecular discoveries into actionable breeding strategies are welcome, ultimately accelerating the development of genetically resilient swine populations and supporting global antimicrobial stewardship in livestock.

1. Focus

This Special Issue focuses on the genetic, epigenetic and molecular determinants of disease resistance and resilience in pigs and on how these can be harnessed for genetic improvement. The central theme is translating mechanistic understanding of how host genomes, immune pathways and host–pathogen interactions shape susceptibility into practical breeding tools for healthier, more robust swine. By elucidating these mechanisms, the Issue aims to provide molecular targets for disease-resistance breeding in pigs.

2. Scope

The Issue spans fundamental molecular biology to applied breeding, welcoming both original research and reviews. Topics include the following:

• Molecular mechanisms of host–pathogen interaction (e.g., PRRSV, ASFV, PEDV)
• Innate and adaptive immune signaling underlying resistance and disease tolerance
• Functional genomics approaches: GWAS, eQTL, transcriptomics, epigenomics and single-cell analyses
• Identification and functional validation of candidate genes and causal variants (e.g., CD163, RELA)
• Genome editing (CRISPR/Cas) for resistance traits
• Genomic selection and precision-breeding strategies
• Multi-omics integration and systems-biology approaches
• Host genetics–microbiome interactions affecting disease outcomes
• Biomarkers for resistance, resilience and vaccine responsiveness

The Issue is interdisciplinary, bridging veterinary medicine, animal genetics, immunology, genomics, bioinformatics and swine production.

3. Purpose

The purpose of the Issue is to consolidate research connecting molecular discovery with actionable breeding strategy, accelerating the development of genetically resilient swine. The Issue aims to advance fundamental understanding of disease-resistance biology, demonstrate how functional genomics, genome editing and genomic selection can be combined and support improvements in animal health, welfare, sustainable production and global antimicrobial stewardship.

Relationship to and Supplementation of Existing Literature

Existing research on swine health genetics is substantial but fragmented: mechanistic immunology, genome-wide association studies, gene-editing reports and quantitative-genetic breeding work are typically published separately and rarely integrated. Much foundational work has also concentrated on a few well-studied loci (such as CD163 for PRRSV) or single-pathogen, single-omics analyses. This Special Issue supplements the literature in three ways. First, it bridges the gap between mechanistic and applied research by linking molecular discoveries to selectable breeding traits. Second, it broadens coverage beyond the most-cited resistance models to a wider range of pathogens, traits (including tolerance and resilience) and emerging methods such as single-cell genomics and multi-omics integration. Third, by gathering interdisciplinary perspectives in one collection, it provides a consolidated, up-to-date reference reflecting rapid recent progress in genome editing and genomic selection, while framing these advances within antimicrobial stewardship and sustainable production.

Dr. Songbai Yang
Dr. Xiaolong Zhou
Dr. Weiyun Qin
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. Veterinary Sciences 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.

• swine disease resistance
• functional genomics
• precision breeding
• multi-omics
• genomic selection
• genome editing
• host–pathogen interaction
• antimicrobial resistance
• animal welfare