Using engineered microbes to reduce methane emissions from cattle

Scientists are looking to change the bacteria in the intestines of cows and a miracle pill to stop cows from belching!

A scientist guides a long tube into the mouth and then into the stomach of a two-month-old calf as part of a research project to prevent cows from belching methane (a potent greenhouse gas), Techna Tech Media Animal Science News Service reports. University of California postdoctoral researcher Paolo Di Meo Filo is part of an ambitious experiment to develop a pill to alter cow gut bacteria to emit less or no methane.

While the fossil fuel industry and some natural sources emit methane, livestock farming has become a major climate concern due to the high volume of emissions from cattle.

“Almost half of the (global) temperature increase we’ve had so far has been due to methane,” said Ermias Kobarab, a professor of animal science at the University of California, Berkeley. Methane, the second leading cause of climate change after carbon dioxide, breaks down faster than CO2 but is more potent. Methane remains in the atmosphere for about 12 years, unlike carbon dioxide which remains for centuries. If we start reducing methane now, we can see the effect on temperature very quickly.

Using rumen fluid samples, scientists study the microbes that convert hydrogen into methane, which is not digested by cows but belched out. A single cow belches about 220 pounds (100 kg) of this gas annually.

Social beings

This calf and other calves receive a diet supplemented with seaweed to reduce methane production. Scientists hope to achieve similar results by introducing genetically modified microbes that absorb hydrogen, starving methane-producing bacteria at the source. However, the team is proceeding with caution.

“We can’t simply reduce methane production by eliminating methane-producing bacteria, because hydrogen can build up to the point where it harms the animal,” said Matthias Hess, who runs the UC Davis lab. Microbes are social organisms. They really like to live together. How they interact and influence each other affects the overall functioning of the ecosystem.

Mr. Hess’s students test different formulations in bioreactors, vessels that reproduce the conditions in which microorganisms live in the stomach, from movements to temperatures.

More productive cows

According to Tekna technology news media, this project is being carried out at the University of California, Davis laboratory, as well as the Innovative Genomics Institute of the University of California, Berkeley (IGI). IGI scientists are trying to identify the right microbe, one they hope to genetically engineer to replace methane-producing microbes. The modified microorganisms will then be tested in the laboratory and on animals at the University of California, Davis.

“We are not only trying to reduce methane emissions, but we also want to increase feed efficiency,” said Mr. Kabrab. “Hydrogen and methane are both energy, so if we reduce this energy and direct it to something else… we will both have better productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The ultimate goal is a single-dose treatment administered early in life, as most cattle graze freely and cannot receive daily supplements. Three research teams have been given $70 million and seven years to achieve a breakthrough.

Kebrab has long studied sustainable animal husbandry practices and opposed calls to reduce meat consumption to save the planet. While he acknowledges this may work for healthy adults in developed countries, he points to countries like Indonesia, where the government is struggling to increase meat and dairy production because 20 percent of children under five are stunted. they take To see other news, refer to Tekna scientific news page.