Ruminants let out a lot of methane during
digestion, which adds to the greenhouse
effect.
Image: iStockphoto
Today, the first map of a rumen methanogen DNA sequence was published in the journal PLoS One, giving scientists worldwide a major new opportunity to identify methods for cutting methane emissions from cows.
There was much excitement in late 2008 when it was announced that a team of PGgRC/AgResearch scientists were the first in the world to map the DNA sequence of a rumen methanogen.
Rumen methanogens are the bacteria responsible for the methane produced by livestock. The bacteria – of which there are a number of species – live in the gut of ruminant livestock, removing the hydrogen and carbon dioxide released as grass and other plant materials are broken down. The byproduct of this process, however, is large amounts of methane: one of the most potent greenhouse gases known.
The objective behind sequencing a rumen methanogen – in this case Methanobrevibacter ruminantium, a bacterium with 2200 genes and almost 3 million basepairs – is to figure out how to selectively knock them out in ways which will not damage other, beneficial bacteria. Possible approaches are vaccines, drenches or even changing forage.
The team, headed by Agresearch’s Dr Graeme Attwood, has been working on the project for over five years, but the PGgRC estimates it will still be a few years until any practical means of reducing methane can be developed.
Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.
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