The Limiting Organ: Placental Adaptation and Failure Under Heat, Hypoxia, and Undernutrition in Livestock and Wildlife

Heat, hypoxia, and undernutrition challenge pregnancy through a common physiological interface: the placenta. Through oxygen and nutrient exchange, vascular development, endocrine signaling, and maternal-fetal immune interactions, the placenta shapes fetal growth and survival, with consequences that can persist after birth. These stressors can alter placental structure, perfusion, transport, and metabolism. The resulting responses vary among species and may preserve fetal development or, when insufficient, compromise pregnancy outcome.Evidence remains uneven across species, limiting comparison across placental types and between production and conservation settings. This Research Topic brings together comparative, mechanistic, and applied studies to clarify how the placenta adapts, compensates, or fails under environmental stress. The goal is to connect placental biology with fertility, offspring resilience, climate-resilient animal production, and wildlife conservation.We welcome original research, reviews, and methods across the following themes:1. Placental morphology, vascular remodeling, and perfusion under heat stress, environmental hypoxia, and undernutrition2. Nutrient sensing, transport, and metabolism at the maternal-fetal interface3. Endocrine signaling, immune tolerance, inflammation, and the placental immune microenvironment4. Molecular and glycobiological regulation, including glycans, galectins, and adhesion molecules5. Comparative placentation and species-specific responses across placental types6. Consequences for fetal growth, developmental programming, postnatal performance, and survival7. Noninvasive indicators, imaging, and omics approaches to assess placental function in animals8. Nutritional, management, and genetic strategies to support placental function in production and conservation settings Topic editors: Claudio Gustavo Barbeito, Carolina Velez Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84094/the-limiting-organ-placental-adaptation-and-failure-under-heat-hypoxia-and-undernutrition-in-livestock-and-wildlife