Helping livestock to cut greenhouse gases

March 3 2009

 

SARDI post-doctoral scientist, Dr Valeria Torok, will help investigate ways for livestock industries to reduce their greenhouse gases – based on profiling the DNA of microbes found in the guts of cattle. 

Livestock release methane, a greenhouse gas as microbes help to digest food in the rumen, one of the four parts of the animal’s stomach.Dr Valeria Torok

Dr Torok’s team will study gut profiles, and compare differences in microbial populations between animals shown to produce high and low levels of methane gases.

The research is part of the Climate Change Research Program funded by the Federal Government, research organisations and industry bodies - one of 18 new projects announced by Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Tony Burke last week (Feb 25 2009).  It is part of a national program on methane reduction, coordinated by Meat and Livestock Australia.

 “Other research teams are investigating how diet and animal genetics affect methane levels, so our research will help shed light on how these factors are linked to the gut microbes,” she said.

“This knowledge will assist research teams to rapidly evaluate feeding, breeding and management strategies in efforts to reduce methane production in ruminant systems.”

A necessary first step will be for Dr Torok’s team to develop and provide molecular techniques based on DNA profiling.  The direct result of her work will be a rapid and highly accurate means of identifying and quantifying gut micro-organisms.

SARDI’s molecular laboratories allow for high volumes of sampling to be processed.  Dr Torok has previously led research in a related field, exploring the interaction between diet and gut microorganisms of poultry.