Why is this research important for Alberta ag?
Methane emissions from ruminants represent a significant dietary energy loss to the animal's growth and contribute to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Lowering enteric methane emissions can help to enhance profits and limit the carbon footprint from cattle production systems.
Currently available compounds for methane mitigation in ruminants are either costly and need to be included as feed additives, are not long-lasting and often are unable to meet regulatory approval, limiting their application on farms.
This research aims to use genomics-based approaches to identify the naturally derived biomolecules that can induce species-specific inhibition through microbial RNA interference. This technology will not only allow effective methane mitigation for ruminants, but also allow future application to manipulate microbiome through the manipulation of microbial species of interest.
What benefits can producers expect from this research?
Canada has committed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the international collaborations to deal with climate change. This project will provide a science-supported foundation to develop a novel RNAi-based microbial manipulation solutions for methane mitigation for farmed ruminants, which would benefit both the producers in lower feed cost and reducing the negative environmental impact by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
How will these research findings reach producers on-farm?
Research findings will be promoted through educational workshops via Livestock Gentec, the world leading center for livestock genomics research. Outcomes will be published in high impact peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international scientific conferences so that the results are available to the scientific community. Articles will also be published in producer-focused publications. Presentations, online videos, online courses, workshops, and webinars will also be used to deliver findings.
Funded in part by the Government of Canada under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.