Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for IJMS Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
Published Papers

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 2867

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Hongyan Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (CHONGQING) Science City & College of Fisheries, Southwest University, Chongqing 402460, China
Interests: molecular biology and genetic breeding of aquatic animals; biodiversity and conservation of aquatic animals; sustainable development of fishery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic animals are important for ensuring the aquatic product supply in terms of high levels of proteins, unsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and microelements. Recently, the increasing demands for aquatic products have resulted in the rapid depletion of fishery stocks all over the world. With decreasing water resources, it has become urgent to improve the aquaculture industry’s efficiency and sustainability. Thus, to obtain new breeds with desirable traits such as a rapid growth, a high meat quality, and stress resistance, a variety of technologies have been developed by the molecular biology and genetic breeding fields. The present Special Issue will focus on aquaculture industry improvements in molecular biology, such as genomic sequencing and gene-editing technologies, as well as genetic breeding, such as markers’ assistant selective, integration, and modification breeding. We welcome original research article and review submissions that contribute to progress in molecular biology and the genetic breeding of aquatic animals.

Prof. Dr. Hongyan Xu
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 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 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. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. 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

transgenic
genetic breeding
omics
gene expression and regulation
aquatic animals

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Order results

Result details

Show export options Show export options

Select all

Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

14 pages, 3408 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of Feeding Behaviors, Appetite Regulation and Growth Performance of All-Female (cyp17a1+/−;XX Genotype) Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

by Xuehui Li, Qingqing Zou, Xuebo Liu, Qiyong Lou, Xia Jin, Jiangyan He, Zhan Yin, Gang Zhai, Ming Duan and Guanghui Chen

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(23), 12517; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252312517 - 21 Nov 2024

Viewed by 229

Abstract

Genome editing has the potential to improve growth and traits of aquatic animals. Assessment of the feeding habits of the genetically modified farmed fish is necessary, as this is closely related to the assessment of their growth performance, which is one of the most important economic traits. Previously, we developed a novel strategy to produce all-female (AF) common carp (cyp17a1+/−;XX genotype) with genome editing, which exhibited a growth advantage compared to the control carp (including control male and female carp). However, the feeding behavior related to the growth performance of wild-type control and AF common carp remains elusive. The results of feeding and swimming behaviors showed that AF common carp exhibited a faster feeding activities and more active swimming activities, which probably enhanced its growth performance. Brain gene expression analysis revealed AF common carp had a significant upregulation of the orexigenic factors gene expression levels in the fed state, which would further promote the growth of AF carp. Here, AF carp exhibited higher growth performance with higher growth hormone (gh) gene expression. This study provided insight into the growth performance, feeding behaviors and appetite regulation of the genetically modified AF carp and the assessment of feeding behaviors in other genetically modified farmed fish. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 2332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of Whole-Genome Resequencing Depth for High-Throughput SNP Genotyping in Litopenaeus vannamei

by Pengfei Lin, Yang Yu, Zhenning Bao and Fuhua Li

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(22), 12083; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms252212083 - 11 Nov 2024

Viewed by 357

Abstract

The application of whole-genome resequencing in genetic research is rapidly expanding, yet the impact of sequencing depth on data quality and variant detection remains unclear, particularly in aquaculture species. This study re-sequenced 31 Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei) samples at over 28× sequencing depth using the Illumina NovaSeq system and down-sampled the data to simulate depths from 0.5× to 20×. Results showed that when the sequencing depth was below 10×, the number of SNP identifications increased sharply with the rise in depth, with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) detected at 10× accounting for approximately 69.16% of those detected at 20×. The genotyping accuracy followed a similar trend to SNP detection results, being approximately 0.90 at 6×. Further analyses showed that the main cause of genotyping errors was the misidentification of heterozygous variants as homozygous variants. Therefore, considering both the quantity and quality of SNPs, a sequencing depth of 10× is recommended for whole-genome studies and genetic mapping, while a depth of 6× is more cost-effective for population structure analysis. This study underscores the importance of selecting optimal sequencing depth to ensure reliable variant detection and high data quality, providing valuable guidance for whole-genome resequencing in shrimp and other aquatic species. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 1589 KiB

Open AccessArticle

GWAS Enhances Genomic Prediction Accuracy of Caviar Yield, Caviar Color and Body Weight Traits in Sturgeons Using Whole-Genome Sequencing Data

by Hailiang Song, Tian Dong, Wei Wang, Xiaoyu Yan, Chenfan Geng, Song Bai and Hongxia Hu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(17), 9756; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25179756 - 9 Sep 2024

Viewed by 916

Abstract

Caviar yield, caviar color, and body weight are crucial economic traits in sturgeon breeding. Understanding the molecular mechanisms behind these traits is essential for their genetic improvement. In this study, we performed whole-genome sequencing on 673 Russian sturgeons, renowned for their high-quality caviar. With an average sequencing depth of 13.69×, we obtained approximately 10.41 million high-quality single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Using a genome-wide association study (GWAS) with a single-marker regression model, we identified SNPs and genes associated with these traits. Our findings revealed several candidate genes for each trait: caviar yield: TFAP2A, RPS6KA3, CRB3, TUBB, H2AFX, morc3, BAG1, RANBP2, PLA2G1B, and NYAP1; caviar color: NFX1, OTULIN, SRFBP1, PLEK, INHBA, and NARS; body weight: ACVR1, HTR4, fmnl2, INSIG2, GPD2, ACVR1C, TANC1, KCNH7, SLC16A13, XKR4, GALR2, RPL39, ACVR2A, ADCY10, and ZEB2. Additionally, using the genomic feature BLUP (GFBLUP) method, which combines linkage disequilibrium (LD) pruning markers with GWAS prior information, we improved genomic prediction accuracy by 2%, 1.9%, and 3.1% for caviar yield, caviar color, and body weight traits, respectively, compared to the GBLUP method. In conclusion, this study enhances our understanding of the genetic mechanisms underlying caviar yield, caviar color, and body weight traits in sturgeons, providing opportunities for genetic improvement of these traits through genomic selection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 14420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization and Functional Analysis of the 17-Beta Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase 2 (hsd17b2) Gene during Sex Reversal in the Ricefield Eel (Monopterus albus)

by Ruyi Chen, Haoyu Zhu, Xiaoling Zhang, Lingli Li, Jinglin Xu, Zhimin Tan, Jialin Su, Ke Feng, Kaili Chen and Hongyan Xu

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(16), 9063; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25169063 - 21 Aug 2024

Viewed by 866

Abstract

In mammals, 17-beta hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (Hsd17b2) enzyme specifically catalyzes the oxidation of the C17 hydroxyl group and efficiently regulates the activities of estrogens and androgens to prevent diseases induced by hormone disorders. However, the functions of the hsd17b2 gene involved in animal sex differentiation are still largely unclear. The ricefield eel (Monopterus albus), a protogynous hermaphroditic fish with a small genome size (2n = 24), is usually used as an ideal model to study the mechanism of sex differentiation in vertebrates. Therefore, in this study, hsd17b2 gene cDNA was cloned and its mRNA expression profiles were determined in the ricefield eel. The cloned cDNA fragment of hsd17b2 was 1230 bp, including an open reading frame of 1107 bp, encoding 368 amino acid residues with conserved catalytic subunits. Moreover, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) analysis showed that hsd17b2 mRNA expressed strongly in the ovaries at early developmental stages, weakly in liver and intestine, and barely in testis and other tissues. In particular, hsd17b2 mRNA expression was found to peak in ovaries of young fish and ovotestis at the early stage, and eventually declined in gonads from the late ovotestis to testis. Likewise, chemical in situ hybridization results indicated that the hsd17b2 mRNA signals were primarily detected in the cytoplasm of oogonia and oocytes at stage I–II, subsequently concentrated in the granulosa cells around the oocytes at stage Ⅲ–Ⅳ, but undetectable in mature oocytes and male germ cells. Intriguingly, in ricefield eel ovaries, hsd17b2 mRNA expression could be significantly reduced by 17β-estradiol (E2) or tamoxifen (17β-estradiol inhibitor, E2I) induction at a low concentration (10 ng/mL) and increased by E2I induction at a high concentration (100 ng/mL). On the other hand, both the melatonin (MT) and flutamide (androgen inhibitor, AI) induction could significantly decrease hsd17b2 mRNA expression in the ovary of ricefield eel. This study provides a clue for demonstrating the mechanism of sexual differentiation in fish. The findings of our study imply that the hsd17b2 gene could be a key regulator in sexual differentiation and modulate sex reversal in the ricefield eel and other hermaphroditic fishes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Molecular Biology and the Genetic Breeding of Aquatic Animals: Breakthroughs and Challenges

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

Published Papers (4 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI