This project aims to define gene function in rumen microbes to improve our knowledge of carbon (C) flow in the rumen, including the breakdown of lignocellulose, through the metabolism of substrates to volatile fatty acids (VFAs) and fermentation end products, to the final step of methane (CH4) formation. The project builds on the datasets and cultures generated from our previous genomic, metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing work with the JGI, which now, in collaboration with rumen microbiology research groups world-wide, allow us to begin to understand gene function in rumen microbes.
Proposer: Graeme Attwood, AgResearch LTD (New Zealand)