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Call for papers - Lipid metabolism in physiology and cell function

Guest Editors

Yingqi Cai, PhD, University of North Texas, USA
Rosa Laura López-Marqués, PhD, DSc, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Tizhong Shan, PhD, Zhejiang University, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 22 January 2025


BMC Biology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Lipid metabolism in physiology and cell function. The Collection welcomes submissions on the regulators of lipid metabolism, including its genetic determinants and the microbiome, and on the role of lipids in cellular homeostasis and physiological processes, including the regulation of fatty acid metabolism and lipidomics advancements.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Yingqi Cai, PhD, University of North Texas, USA

Dr Yingqi Cai is a research assistant professor at the University of North Texas. Yingqi received her PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from University of North Texas studying plant homologues of mammalian lipogenic proteins. Then she moved to Brookhaven National Laboratory for a postdoc studying the regulation of plant lipid metabolism and developing new strategies to engineer storage lipid production in plant vegetative tissues. Her current research focuses on elucidating the cellular machinery for lipid droplet biogenesis in plant cells, understanding the regulatory mechanism for lipid metabolism in plants, and engineering lipids and other natural metabolites in plant tissues.

Rosa Laura López-Marqués, PhD, DSc, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Dr López-Marqués was awarded her PhD degree by the University of Sevilla, Spain, in 2004, and the Doctor Scientiarum title by the University of Copenhagen in 2023. The aim of her research is to understand the role of transporters known as P4-ATPases or lipid flippases in plant adaptation to biotic and abiotic stress, and to apply this knowledge to the generation of crops resilient to environmental stresses to ensure future food production. Dr López-Marqués' group has developed techniques to study the mechanism, regulation, and physiological role of plant lipid flippases, including molecular biology, biochemistry, advanced bioimaging, and high-throughput analysis tools.

Tizhong Shan, PhD, Zhejiang University, China

Dr Shan is a tenured professor in the College of Animal Sciences at Zhejiang University, China. His research interests focus on glucose and lipid metabolism, adult stem cell biology, molecular nutrition, lipid function, and regulation of meat quality. So far, he has published 100+ peer-reviewed articles in different journals.

About the Collection

BMC Biology is calling for submissions to our Collection on Lipid metabolism in physiology and cell function.

Lipid metabolism plays a pivotal role in maintaining cellular homeostasis and regulating essential physiological processes. The growing field of lipidomics has provided unprecedented insights into the diverse functions of lipids and their dynamic interplay with cellular processes. Understanding this interplay is crucial. In humans, it has implications in various pathologies such as cancer, obesity, and neurodegenerative disease. In plants, it is essential for proper development and for triggering adaptive stress responses.  In addition, lipids are at the forefront of industrial efforts on pharmaceuticals, bioenergetics, food quality, and diverse other applications, and optimization of natural product production in microorganisms could benefit from engineering of lipid metabolic pathways. In light of this, as well as current changes observed in ecosystems and technology development, investigating lipid metabolism in physiology and cell function is not only timely but also essential for advancing disease treatment, therapeutic interventions, crop improvement, and other biotechnological approaches.

The Collection welcomes submissions on the regulators of lipid metabolism, including its genetic determinants and the microbiome, and on the role of lipids in cellular homeostasis and physiological processes, including the regulation of fatty acid metabolism and lipidomics advancements. Additionally, we strongly encourage submissions focusing on the requirements of lipid metabolism and effects of lipid toxicity in diverse organ systems such as the immune and nervous systems, liver, skeletal muscle, and adipose tissue, as well as the basis of lipid metabolism dysregulation in metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Research on the interplay between lipid metabolism and cancer progression, inflammation, immune response, aging, neurodegenerative diseases, and lifestyle and therapeutic approaches to targeting lipid metabolism using diverse models of disease are also encouraged. We welcome research on plant lipid metabolism during development and in response to stress, updates on seed oil production and accumulation, and identification of new lipid-derived natural products. Finally, we welcome research on ecosystem adaptation, and biotechnological applications, from animals to plants and microorganisms.

 Topics may include, but are not limited to:

  • Regulatory mechanisms governing fatty acid synthesis, oxidation, and storage
  • Interactions between lipids and other molecular determinants of cell function 
  • Role of fatty acids in cellular signaling and metabolic homeostasis
  • Advancements in lipidomics for lipid profiling and quantification
  • Lipotoxicity mechanisms and their contribution to metabolic disorders
  • Therapeutic approaches to mitigate lipotoxicity-associated pathologies
  • Role of lipid mediators and lipid-derived signaling molecules in inflammation and tissue repair, as well as plant development and adaptation to stress.
  • Studies of lipid metabolism in microorganisms of industrial/agricultural interest


Image credit: © Spectral-Design / Stock.adobe.com

  1. Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), a prevalent liver disorder affecting one-third of the global population, encompasses a spectrum ranging from fatty liver to severe hepatic steatosis. Both gene...

    Authors: Wan-Yu Chi, Gang-Hui Lee, Ming-Jer Tang, Bing-Hung Chen, Wei-Ling Lin and Tzu-Fun Fu
    Citation: BMC Biology 2024 22:146
    Content type: Research article Published on:

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. To submit your manuscript to this Collection, please use our online submission system. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Lipid metabolism in physiology and cell function" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.