Qiushuang Li, Zhiyuan Ma, Jiabin Huo, Xiumin Zhang, Rong Wang, Shizhe Zhang, Jinzhen Jiao, Xiyang Dong, Peter H Janssen, Emilio M Ungerfeld, Chris Greening, Zhiliang Tan, Min Wang
Ruminants are essential for global food security, but these are major sources of the greenhouse gas methane. Methane yield is controlled by the cycling of molecular hydrogen (H2), which is produced during carbohydrate fermentation and is consumed by methanogenic, acetogenic, and respiratory microorganisms. However, we lack a holistic understanding of the mediators and pathways of H2 metabolism and how this varies between ruminants with different methane-emitting phenotypes. Here, we used metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, metabolomics, and biochemical approaches to compare H2 cycling and reductant disposal pathways between low-methane-emitting Holstein and high-methane-emitting Jersey dairy cattle...
January 8, 2024: ISME Journal