Molecular Epidemiology in Livestock Infectious Diseases: From Management Practices to Microbial Mechanisms

Infectious diseases in livestock remain a persistent threat to animal welfare, food security, and global public health, given the close ties between farm management, pathogen transmission, and zoonotic spillover. Traditional disease control strategies often treat husbandry practices and microbial biology as separate concerns, yet outbreaks are increasingly understood as the product of both: how animals are housed, fed, and moved shapes the conditions under which pathogens evolve, persist, and spread. Bridging these perspectives is essential to designing interventions that are both biologically sound and practically deployable on farms.This research topic aims to bring together researchers working across the spectrum of livestock infectious disease—from field epidemiologists tracking transmission patterns and risk factors tied to management systems to molecular microbiologists dissecting the genetic and mechanistic basis of pathogenicity, resistance, and host adaptation. We welcome studies that use molecular epidemiology tools (genomic surveillance, phylogenetics, strain typing) to trace outbreaks back to specific management or environmental drivers, as well as mechanistic work that explains why certain pathogens thrive under particular production conditions.By connecting on-farm practices with the molecular underpinnings of infection, this topic seeks to generate insights that translate into actionable, evidence-based recommendations for disease prevention and control. We particularly encourage submissions with a One Health lens, given the relevance of livestock pathogens to food safety and zoonotic risk.We welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:Genomic and phylogenetic surveillance of livestock pathogens across production systemsImpact of housing density, biosecurity, and husbandry practices on pathogen transmission dynamicsMolecular mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance emergence in farm environmentsHost-pathogen interactions shaped by management-driven stress or immune statusCross-species and zoonotic transmission risk linked to livestock production practicesNovel diagnostic and molecular typing tools for outbreak tracing in livestockRole of the animal microbiome in disease susceptibility and management outcomesCase studies linking epidemiological data to microbial evolution or virulence factorsClimate and environmental drivers of pathogen persistence in livestock settingsPolicy and intervention strategies informed by molecular epidemiological evidence Topic editors: Ali Sobhy Dawood, Samah Attia Algharib, Aizhen Guo, Wanhe Luo Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/85314/molecular-epidemiology-in-livestock-infectious-diseases-from-management-practices-to-microbial-mechanisms