Advances in Single-Cell Omics in Avians

The growing demand for sustainable, efficient, and high-quality poultry production requires a deeper understanding of the cellular mechanisms that regulate growth, immunity, reproduction, metabolism, and adaptation to environmental challenges. Poultry tissues are composed of diverse and functionally specialized cell populations whose responses are often masked by conventional bulk analyses. Single-cell and spatial technologies now provide unprecedented opportunities to resolve this cellular heterogeneity, identify rare or transient cell populations, and determine how specific cell types contribute to poultry health and performance. Single-cell technologies offer a powerful framework for determining how genetic selection, nutrition, age, sex, disease, and environmental conditions reshape cellular composition and function. By integrating cellular-resolution data with tissue phenotypes and whole-animal performance, this Research Topic seeks to connect molecular discoveries with practical applications in poultry breeding, management, nutrition, health, and welfare.This Research Topic aims to advance the use of single-cell approaches in poultry science and improve our understanding of avian physiology at cellular resolution. We welcome studies using single-cell RNA sequencing, single-nucleus RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and integrative multi-omics to investigate cellular development, function, communication, and disease. Studies integrating these technologies with functional validation, lineage tracing, histology, imaging, physiological measurements, genetic analyses, or production traits are particularly encouraged. Comparative studies across poultry species, genetic lines, developmental stages, tissues, and environmental conditions are also welcome.Contributions may address topics including, but not limited to:• Single-cell characterization of embryonic development, organogenesis, and posthatch growth• Cellular heterogeneity and lineage dynamics in skeletal muscle, satellite cells, adipose tissue, liver, intestine, and other metabolic organs• Cell type–specific mechanisms underlying poultry muscle disorders, including wooden breast, white striping, and spaghetti meat• Immune-cell diversity and activation during infection, vaccination, inflammation, and disease resistance• Cellular responses to heat stress, oxidative stress, nutritional restriction, and other environmental challenges• Effects of genetic selection on cellular composition, gene regulation, and intercellular communication• Single-cell analysis of reproductive tissues, follicular development, egg production, and fertility• Host–microbiome interactions at single-cell resolution in the intestinal and immune systems• Identification of rare, transitional, or disease-associated cell populations• Spatial organization of cells and signaling pathways within poultry tissues• Cell–cell communication, ligand–receptor interactions, and regulatory-network analysis• Integration of single-cell transcriptomics with epigenomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and spatial data• Development of poultry-specific reference atlases, marker databases, analytical pipelines, and computational tools• Comparative single-cell studies across broilers, layers, turkeys, ducks, quail, and other avian species, with broader comparisons to rodent and mammalian models.• Translation of single-cell discoveries into biomarkers, breeding strategies, nutritional interventions, and management practicesWe welcome original research articles, methods papers, review articles and mini-reviews, perspectives, hypothesis and theory articles, and opinion papers. Studies that establish standardized protocols for poultry sample preparation, cell or nuclei isolation, tissue dissociation, annotation, data integration, and validation are particularly valuable, as these methodological challenges currently limit broader adoption of single-cell technologies in avian research.By bringing together researchers in poultry science, genetics, physiology, immunology, nutrition, developmental biology, veterinary medicine, and computational biology, this collection will provide a platform for advancing cellular-resolution research in poultry. The resulting studies will help establish a more complete understanding of avian biology and support the development of healthier, more resilient, and more productive poultry populations.'Topic Editor Hui Yu has received funding grants from the Cobb-Vantress Research Initiative. The other Topic Editor declares no competing interests.' Topic editors: Hui Yu, Sandra G Velleman Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84284/advances-in-single-cell-omics-in-avians