The gut microbiome and its implication for sustainable livestock production, food security and food safety

  • 10k

    Total downloads

  • 40k

    Total views and downloads

Submit your idea

You will be redirected to our submission process.

Submit your manuscript

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

To meet the global food demands of the future, livestock production systems have to overcome unprecedented challenges. Meat consumption is expected to double by 2050 with the increase of the world population and with an estimated 30% of the global protein for human consumption being animal-derived. Intensively housed livestock poses major challenges to animal welfare, disease transmission throughout the food chain, food safety, and the evolution of antibiotic resistance. Additionally, the environmental footprint of livestock products is influenced by husbandry systems. Therefore, actions are urgently needed to minimize the negative environmental impacts as well as food safety and animal welfare concerns associated with intensive farming. The microbiome of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) plays an essential role in the production traits and health of domestic livestock, including ruminants, swine, poultry and equines. The GIT microbiota contributes to host metabolism, modulation of the innate immune system, enhancement of intestinal mucosal barrier function, and prevention of pathogen colonization, which are key to host development, performance and health. Livestock animals are also a source of foodborne pathogens and zoonotic agents, imposing risks to food safety and human health. Technological advances in high-throughput sequencing approaches, improvements of microbial genomic databases, and a growing wealth of omic data together with the development of novel approaches to identify microbial signatures and differentially abundant features in microbiome datasets are allowing unparalleled scrutiny at the molecular level of the mechanisms underlying host-microorganism interactions, the origins of foodborne diseases and the associations between microbes colonizing animals, humans and the environment. These advancements also provide unique opportunities for understanding the effects of gut microbiome interventions on the development and physiology of the host and for evaluating emerging microbiome technologies for sustainable livestock production.

This Research Topic aims to explore how microbiome knowledge can be applied to benefit the productive performance and health of food animals. Particularly, the topic seeks to highlight the mechanisms underlying the mode of action of factors that alter the gut microbiota of domestic livestock, research targeting food safety concerns associated with microbiome-related interventions and livestock management systems, and studies exploring the critical roles that the gut microbiome plays in livestock health and production. It should be emphasized, however, that descriptive research (i.e. 16S rRNA profiles) are not suitable for this Research Topic. To be considered for the RT, a clear hypothesis and experimental data (beyond descriptive and pure-predictive data) is required.

In this Research Topic we welcome original research, hypothesis and theory, methods, protocols, and review articles to better understand the factors that contribute to improving the sustainability and efficiency of livestock production and food safety. Manuscripts addressing the following areas of investigation are encouraged:
- Mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of factors that can alter the gut microbiome of livestock, including (but not limited to) prebiotic and probiotics, antibiotics, bioactive substances to improve immunity, bacteriophages, fecal transplants, and diet.
- Predictive tools to evaluate how changes to the gut microbiota translate into health effects.
- Identification and characterization of biomarkers associated with gastrointestinal function and/or production traits.
- Technologies applied to circular bio-economy and sustainable livestock production.
- Theoretical and methodological approaches to understanding the impact of environmental conditions on livestock production and food safety.
- Novel approaches for screening and reducing the prevalence of pathogens across the food chain.
- Alternatives to antibiotics to modulate gut-associated microbial communities of food animals.

Keywords: Microbiome, additives, foodborne pathogens, biomarkers, multi-omics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 40kTopic views
  • 28kArticle views
  • 10kArticle downloads
View impact