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Molecular studies of the ruminal microorganisms involved in methane production: towards more environmentally friendly European livestock

Final Report Summary - METANORUMEN (Molecular studies of the ruminal microorganisms involved in methane production: towards more environmentally friendly European livestock)

1. Public outreach: publishable summary of work performed and results

This project aimed to apply genomic technologies to improve our understanding of the microbial rumen population involved in methane production and the factors determining the variability between individuals.

Methane produced during anaerobic fermentation in the rumen represents an energy loss to the host animal as well as contributing to emissions of greenhouse gases into the environment. Given the concerns over global warming, it is apparent that animal agriculture can play a role in control and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

The first phase of the project has been dedicated to two optimization tasks:
- Different molecular techniques have been optimized used to characterize the archaeal population diversity in the rumen and other groups of micro organisms involved in the production of hydrogen in the rumen (cellullytic bacteria, fungi and protozoa). Real-time PCR (qPCR) has been also applied to accurately quantify archaeal populations and other key microbial groups.
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