Researchers control cattle microbiomes to reduce methane and greenhouse gases:
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers have learned to control the microbiome of cattle for the first time which could inhibit their methane production, and therefore reduce a major source of greenhouse gasses.
[...] The animal microbiome is a scientifically unexplored area. It protects against germs, breaks down food to release energy, and produces vitamins and exerts great control over many aspects of animal and human physical systems. Microbes are introduced at birth and produce a unique microbiome that evolves over time.
Mizrahi and his group have been conducting a three-year experiment with 50 cows divided into two groups. One group gave birth naturally, and the other through cesarean section. That difference was enough to change microbiome development and composition microbiome of the cows from each group.
Changing the birthing method changed the microbiome of the calves.
Journal Reference:
Ori Furman, Liat Shenhav, Goor Sasson, et al. Stochasticity constrained by deterministic effects of diet and age drive rumen microbiome assembly dynamics [open], Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15652-8)
Previously:
(2019-06-19) Seaweed Feed Additive Cuts Livestock Methane but Poses Questions
(2018-09-01) Researchers Feed Seaweed To Dairy Cows To Reduce Emissions
Related Stories
University of California researchers are feeding seaweed to dairy cows in an attempt to make cattle more climate-friendly.
UC Davis is studying whether adding small amounts of seaweed to cattle feed can help reduce their emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that's released when cattle burp, pass gas or make manure.
In a study this past spring, researchers found methane emissions were reduced by more than 30 percent in a dozen Holstein cows that ate the ocean algae, which was mixed into their feed and sweetened with molasses to disguise the salty taste.
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Seaweed feed additive cuts livestock methane but poses questions
"Asparagopsis taxiformis -- a red seaweed that grows in the tropics -- in short-term studies in lactating dairy cows decreased methane emission by 80 percent and had no effect on feed intake or milk yield, when fed at up to 0.5 percent of feed dry-matter intake," said Alexander Hristov, distinguished professor of dairy nutrition. "It looks promising, and we are continuing research."
If seaweed feed supplement is a viable option to make a difference globally, the scale of production would have to be immense, Hristov noted. With nearly 1.5 billion head of cattle in the world, harvesting enough wild seaweed to add to their feed would be impossible. Even to provide it as a supplement to most of the United States' 94 million cattle is unrealistic.
[...] "To be used as a feed additive on a large scale, the seaweed would have to be cultivated in aquaculture operations," he said. "Harvesting wild seaweed is not an option because soon we would deplete the oceans and cause an ecological problem."
There are also questions about the stability over time of the active ingredients -- bromoforms -- in the seaweed. These compounds are sensitive to heat and sunlight and may lose their methane-mitigating activity with processing and storage, Hristov warned.
Palatability is another question. It appears cows do not like the taste of seaweed -- when Asparagopsis was included at 0.75 percent of the diet, researchers observed a drop in the feed intake by the animals.
Also, the long-term effects of seaweed on animal health and reproduction and its effects on milk and meat quality need to be determined. A panel judging milk taste is part of ongoing research, Hristov said.
[...] "It is pretty much a given that if enteric methane emissions are decreased, there likely will be an increase in the efficiency of animal production," said Hristov. Seaweed used in the Penn State research was harvested from the Atlantic Ocean in the Azores and shipped frozen from Portugal. It was freeze-dried and ground by the researchers. Freeze drying and grinding 4 tons of seaweed for the research was "a huge undertaking," Hristov said.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record. Increases are being driven primarily by growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills.
Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century. This is a dangerous temperature threshold at which scientists warn that natural disasters, including wildfires, droughts and floods, and social disruptions such as famines and mass migrations become almost commonplace. The findings are outlined in two papers published July 14 in Earth System Science Data and Environmental Research Letters by researchers with the Global Carbon Project, an initiative led by Stanford University scientist Rob Jackson.
In 2017, the last year when complete global methane data are available, Earth's atmosphere absorbed nearly 600 million tons of the colorless, odorless gas that is 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over a 100-year span. More than half of all methane emissions now come from human activities. Annual methane emissions are up 9 percent, or 50 million tons per year, from the early 2000s, when methane concentrations in the atmosphere were relatively stable.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2020, @07:46PM (3 children)
The cattle in the real world is fed antibiotics to produce more of those; changes their microbiome too, obviously. If the anti-fart change has the opposite effect, the research is purely a brain fart.
As to the "changing the birthing method changed the microbiome", for human babies that fact is known for some time already. Not much reason for it to be different in animals.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Monday June 01 2020, @08:39PM (2 children)
its not even specifically the antibiotics. those are mostly used because there is a constant risk of infections of the herds due to the crowding. Another reason for the (over) use in Dairy cows is the rBST causes a higher rate of udder infections in the Dairy cows.
A cow eating grass, as it is evolved to do, doesn't generate nearly as much methane as corn/grain feed cows. The wrong diet causes their gut biom to get screwed up and gives them problems, a main one being gas.
Given the choice a cow will always eat grass.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday June 01 2020, @09:05PM
All Cows Eat Grass.
F A C E
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(Score: 1) by petecox on Tuesday June 02 2020, @12:07AM
The next step, surely, is to trial new species of pasture that enhance the cow's microbiome (c.f. the seaweed experiment).
[Aside: on a personal note, some of you may have noticed I myself may have been a little more gassy. With help from family and neighbours, I'm eating my way thru my inaugural Jerusalem artichoke harvest, whose inulin has a prebiotic effect. Amazing though how 1 single tuber can produce a 2 metre high bush of miniature sunflowers and a 10 litre bucketful of tubers, in a suburban yard!]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 01 2020, @08:13PM (1 child)
When are they going to mandate catalytic converters installed on all cows?
--Ash
(Score: 4, Funny) by DannyB on Monday June 01 2020, @09:07PM
Not on Nunes Cows which convert methane into Brain Farts.
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(Score: 1) by gmby on Monday June 01 2020, @08:57PM (1 child)
BENO!!! to the rescue!
Bye
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday June 01 2020, @09:10PM
You shouldn't have said that! Now it will be marked up by at least 5000 %.
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by Pav on Tuesday June 02 2020, @01:14AM (1 child)
If cattle and camels drink at the same water troughs apparently they swap rumen bacteria which allows the cattle to produce less methane, and also get more nutrition from harder to digest plants [abc.net.au]. I guess they're experimenting with more radically and permanently modifying cattle gut flora?
(Score: 2) by martyb on Tuesday June 02 2020, @02:29AM
That's very interesting!
I think I'll ruminate on it for a while...
=)
Wit is intellect, dancing.