REVIEW article
Front. Genet.
Sec. Livestock Genomics
Omics in mini-livestock: A genomic perspective on the future of sustainable food systems
Provisionally accepted
- Institute of Animal Genomics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hanover, Germany
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Mini-livestock refers to small vertebrates and invertebrates used as human food, animal feed, or for other beneficial purposes. They represent sustainable alternatives to conventional livestock, whose potential is now being revealed through advances in omics technologies. Omics approaches such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics provide comprehensive insights into growth, reproduction, adaptation, and disease resistance of these species, enabling the identification of genetic markers to enhance breeding efficiency and to improve productivity. However, the application of omics technologies in mini-livestock remains limited due to challenges such as high costs, lack of reference genomes, and limited bioinformatics resources. Overcoming these barriers will be crucial for fully harnessing the potential of mini-livestock in improving global food security and environmental sustainability.
Keywords: Animal improvement, Epigenomics, Genomics, Metabolomics, mini-livestock, omics, Proteomics, sustainability
Received: 05 Nov 2025; Accepted: 17 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sode, Halder and Metzger. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Julia Metzger
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