PhD opportunity at Queen’s University, Belfast
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PhD opportunity at Queen’s University, Belfast
About the Project
Dietary interventions offer mechanism of being able to manipulate the rumen microbiome and reduce methane in a quick manner. Indeed, there has been much focus in recent years on finding and developing efficient, practical and cost effective dietary interventions to reduce methane emissions from ruminants. These include chemical inhibitors, oils, micro and macroalgae, plant secondary compounds, direct fed microbials etc. The aim of the PhD studentship is to investigate the potential additive effect of feeding these interventions in combination, whilst also seeking to improve the practical feeding approaches to feed animals which are predominantly grazing. The project will involve in vitro testing, coupled with moving the most promising approaches onto in vivo ruminant experiments. We will also assess the effects on the rumen microbiome in order to assess mechanisms of action.
Ruminant animals are unique in terms of their evolution, particularly with respect to the development of 4 compartment forestomach (reticulum, rumen, omasum and abomasum), which is not found in any other animal. Of the 4 compartments, the rumen is the largest and most important fermentative chamber of the forestomach. This is because a complex, dynamic ecosystem composed of mainly anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, fungi, methanogenic archaea and phages exist in the rumen, with their primary role being to provide the host with energy from the breakdown of plant cell wall carbohydrates that are largely indigestible by humans (Huws et al., 2018; Figure 1). This breakdown of carbohydrates results in the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which provide energy to the host. The hydrogen produced as a consequence of carbohydrate breakdown is used by the rumen methanogens to reduce carbon dioxide and produce the greenhouse gas, methane, which is eructated from the animal, thus contributing to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
Figure 1. Carbohydrate fermentation and methanogenesis in the rumen. Taken from https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/d3381a38-c96a-4ec6-82ec-d328d76f85cc/content
The governments across the world have set target to be net zero by various times, with the developed bodies in the UK opting for 2050, with Ireland opting for no later than 2040, therefore substantially reducing global warming and the impacts of climate change. The Northern Ireland government have also set a target to reduce methane emissions from ruminants by 46% by 2050, whilst Ireland have set a target of reducing carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, which roughly equates to the need to reduce methane emissions by 10% by 2030.
Dietary interventions offer mechanism of being able to manipulate the rumen microbiome and reduce methane in a quick manner. Indeed, there has been much focus in recent years on finding and developing efficient, practical and cost effective dietary interventions to reduce methane emissions from ruminants (Arndt et al, 2022). These include chemical inhibitors, oils, micro and macroalgae, plant secondary compounds, direct fed microbials etc. (Arndt et al, 2022). The aim of the PhD studentship is to investigate the potential additive effect of feeding these interventions in combination, whilst also seeking to improve the practical feeding approaches to feed animals which are predominantly grazing. The project will involve in vitro testing, coupled with moving the most promising approaches onto in vivo ruminant experiments. We will also assess the effects on the rumen microbiome in order to assess mechanisms of action. Therefore, the suitable PhD candidate must have a combination of Animal Science and/or Microbiology expertise with bionformatic skills also desirable.
The suitable PhD candidate must have a combination of Animal Science and/or Microbiology expertise with bionformatic skills also desirable.
Biological Sciences Building 80%
AFBI 10%
TEAGASC 10%
Funding Notes
DAERA - Co Centre Sustainable Food Systems
This PhD will be part of a wider Co Centre for Sustainable Food Systems.
The Co-Centre for Sustainable Food Systems encompasses a research programme of oriented basic and applied research in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and social sciences across the Republic of Ireland (ROI), Northern Ireland (NI) and Great Britain (GB).
References
Arndt C, Hristov AN, Price WJ, McClelland SC, Pelaez AM, Cueva SF, Oh J, Dijkstra J, Bannink A, Bayat AR, Crompton LA, Eugène MA, Enahoro D, Kebreab E, Kreuzer M, McGee M, Martin C, Newbold CJ, Reynolds CK, Schwarm A, Shingfield KJ, Veneman JB, Yáñez-Ruiz DR, Yu Z. Full adoption of the most effective strategies to mitigate methane emissions by ruminants can help meet the 1.5 °C target by 2030 but not 2050. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022 May 17;119(20):e2111294119. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2111294119.
Huws SA, Creevey CJ, Oyama LB, Mizrahi I, Denman SE, Popova M, Muñoz-Tamayo R, Forano E, Waters SM, Hess M, Tapio I, Smidt H, Krizsan SJ, Yáñez-Ruiz DR, Belanche A, Guan L, Gruninger RJ, McAllister TA, Newbold CJ, Roehe R, Dewhurst RJ, Snelling TJ, Watson M, Suen G, Hart EH, Kingston-Smith AH, Scollan ND, do Prado RM, Pilau EJ, Mantovani HC, Attwood GT, Edwards JE, McEwan NR, Morrisson S, Mayorga OL, Elliott C, Morgavi DP. Addressing Global Ruminant Agricultural Challenges Through Understanding the Rumen Microbiome: Past, Present, and Future. Front Microbiol. 2018 Sep 25;9:2161. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.02161.