Immune Mechanisms of Resistance to Infectious Diseases in Ruminants

Dear Colleagues,

Domestic ruminants (goat, sheep and cattle) provide outstanding services to human communities as a source of high-quality nutritional products and workload. They can be a source of zoonotic pathogens such as the bacteria causing brucellosis or tuberculosis not only in breeders, but possibly in the consumers of their products. Ruminant health and the economy of their production sector can be affected by specific infectious diseases such as mastitis and respiratory diseases, amongst others. Parasitic diseases produced by ectoparasites, nematodes or hemoparasites are also a threat for the animals having access to pastures. The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide new and important information on the knowledge about immune mechanisms that make the ruminant species more resistant or more tolerant to these various kinds of diseases. After their genome sequences were established in the early 2000s and with the development of genome-wide association studies, gene expression and mechanistic studies are more accessible to decipher what in their immune system makes them more resistant, or conversely susceptible, to diseases. Furthermore, development of high-throughput methods of immune profiling of their innate and adaptive responses against different types of pathogens and the significant progress made in the identification of their immune cells and the description of the major histocompatibility complexes are completing the knowledge about immunity to infectious diseases. We expect submissions of innovating studies promoting an understanding of this important field for the improvement of ruminant health and welfare and the success of livestock breeding.

Prof. Gilles Foucras, DVM, PhD
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. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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.

• infectious diseases
• ruminant
• genetics
• vaccines
• immunity