The rumen microbiome is comprised primarily of microbes such as bacteria, methanogenic archaea, fungi, ciliate protozoa and viruses that have evolved to act together to rapidly breakdown of complex plant sugars, and ferment the released sugars to produce short-chain fatty acids. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) with a global warming potential 25 times that of carbon dioxide. In many countries, ruminant livestock are the largest source of methane emissions from the agricultural sector. In studying the rumen microbiome as part of the Hungate 1000 mission to develop a catalog of reference genomes, the work may result in novel strategies for methane reduction from ruminant animals through genomic analysis of members of the rumen microbiome.
Proposer’s Name: Bill Kelly