Selenium in Soil-Plant-Animal Systems and its Essential Role for Human Health, Volume II

Note: We welcome in-scope submissions arising from oral and/or poster presentations from 25th International Conference on Environmental Indicators. However, submissions are also warmly welcomed from non-attendees.

This Research Topic is also Volume II of a series. The previous volume, which has attracted over 106.5k views can be found here:
Selenium in Soil-Plant-Animal Systems and its Essential Role for Human Health

Selenium (Se) is one of the most influential natural-occurring nutrient elements for living systems. Dietary Se from crops and animal feed are essential for metabolism and normal physiological processes in humans and animals. There are multi-faceted interactions among soil, plant, and microorganism in different environments, which significantly affects chemical behaviours of Se in agricultural soils, uptake, accumulation and speciation of Se in crops. Thus, there is an essential need to better understand Se in the soil-plant-animal system, and thereby effectively improve Se bioavailability in soil and bio-accessibility in food products and feed materials for preserving human and animal health. Recognizing selenium’s impact on a multitude of processes in nature requires multi-disciplinary research on Se absorption, chemical transformation, and biochemical and physiological metabolisms in soil-plant-animal systems that can help us develop and implement effective strategies to mitigate public health impacts or concerns of Se deficiencies in a safe and sustainable manner.

The biological importance of Se has been firmly established previously by scientists for its essential roles in various molecular, biochemical and physiological mechanisms related to human and animal health. With approximate 1 billion people facing some degree of Se deficiency in the world, it is imperative that this continued research topic will provide a myriad of the latest and comprehensive knowledge on various inter-related aspects of Se in supporting and protecting animal, human, and ecosystem health in a safe and sustainable manner. This collection will enhance our understanding on Se transfer in the soil-crop system or through food chains. We intend to bring together contributions from international recognized Se researchers who represent different but interrelated research disciplines involving physiochemical and biological behaviours of Se within the larger foundation topics of agricultural soil, bioavailability, plant uptake and accumulation, molecular and physiological responses, microbial transformation, biofortification, functional food processing, and animal health.

This collection of papers will consider original research reports and critical reviews concerned with Se in food chains, effects of Se on human and animal health, and Se supplementary safety and sustainability. The topics might include but are not limited to the following:
• Biogeochemical processes of Se
• Nutritional quality of human dietary materials derived from plant and/or animal for humans
• Technologies of developing Se-biofortified agricultural food products via agronomic and biotechnological approaches like molecular and genetic engineering
• Functional food production.
Research articles that address Se-focused agricultural production systems from production, processing, distribution, and consumption are additionally welcomed. We will particularly consider manuscripts that deal with soil Se origin, bioavailability, uptake and metabolism in plants, and Se bio-accessibility in humans and animals.

We welcome in-scope submissions arising from oral and/or poster presentations from 2026 International Workshop on the Safety and Sustainability of Selenium Supplementation and Biofortification. However, submissions are also warmly welcomed from non-attendees.