Livestock Genomics: Decoding Complex Traits Through Network Biology
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 227
Special Issue Editors
Interests: genetics of growth and development and molecular evolution of important gene families subject to genomic imprinting; epigenetics changes and reprogramming and disease in mammals
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: genetics of infectious diseases; forensic genetics; genomics; bioinformatics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In an era defined by rapid advances in biotechnology and computational biology, the field of livestock genomics stands at a transformative crossroads. The genetic improvement of livestock—essential for ensuring global food security, environmental sustainability, and economic resilience—has traditionally relied on selective breeding and quantitative genetics. While these approaches have brought substantial progress, the growing demand for efficiency, precision, and adaptability in animal production systems now calls for a deeper understanding of the biological complexity underlying economically important traits.
This Special Issue explores the frontiers of genomic science with a particular focus on network-based approaches to understanding complex phenotypes in livestock species. Complex traits—such as growth rate, disease resistance, fertility, feed efficiency, and adaptability to climate stress—are shaped by intricate interactions among genes, proteins, metabolites, and environmental variables. Decoding these multifactorial systems requires more than cataloging individual genes; it demands an integrative framework that captures the dynamic relationships within biological networks. Network biology provides that framework. By treating the genome as a dynamic system rather than a static code, network biology enables the modeling of gene–gene, gene–environment, and multi-omic interactions that govern trait expressions. Techniques such as gene co-expression networks, protein–protein interaction maps, regulatory circuits, and systems-level omics integration offer powerful tools to move beyond reductionist views and embrace the full complexity of life at the molecular level.
This Special Issue seeks to bring together foundational principles, cutting-edge methodologies, and real-world applications to illustrate how network biology is reshaping our understanding of livestock genomics. From the identification of key regulatory hubs and pathway perturbations to the development of predictive models for breeding and management, we wish to highlight the promise of systems-based approaches in addressing the grand challenges of modern animal agriculture.
Dr. Ikhide Imumorin
Dr. Moses Okpeku
Dr. Olanrewaju B. Morenikeji
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- network biology
- systems biology
- computational genomics
- complex phenotypes
- economic traits
- livestock improvement
- molecular genetics
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