Abstract
Ruminants produce considerable amounts of methane during their digestive process, which makes the livestock industry as one of the largest sources of anthropogenic greenhouse gases. To tackle this situation, several solutions have been proposed, including vaccination of ruminants against microorganisms responsible for methane synthesis in the rumen. In this review, we summarize the research done on this topic and describe the state of the art of this strategy. The different steps implied in this approach are described: experimental design, animal model (species, age), antigen (whole cells, cell parts, recombinant proteins, peptides), adjuvant (Freund’s, Montanide, saponin, among others), vaccination schedule (booster intervals and numbers) and measurements of treatment success (immunoglobulin titers and/or effects on methanogens and methane production). Highlighting both the advances made and knowledge gaps in the use of vaccines to inhibit ruminant methanogen activity, this research review opens the door to future studies. This will enable improvements in the methodology and systemic approaches so as to ensure the success of this proposal for the sustainable mitigation of methane emission.
Highlights
Methane (CH4 ) is one of the main greenhouse gases; its negative effect on global warming is 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) [1]
Livestock-keeping is the human activity that generates most CH4, since ruminants emit large amounts in their digestive processes. This gas is formed in the ruminant forestomach by methanogenic archaea [2]
Numerous prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms work together to degrade the feedstuff consumed by the host ruminant [7]
Summary
Methane (CH4 ) is one of the main greenhouse gases; its negative effect on global warming is 21 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2 ) [1]. Livestock-keeping is the human activity that generates most CH4 , since ruminants emit large amounts in their digestive processes. This gas is formed in the ruminant forestomach (rumen) by methanogenic archaea [2]. Mitigation approaches targeted at reducing CH4 must consider their effects on both enteric and manure fermentation, which account for approximately 90% and 10% of CH4 emissions, respectively [6]. Common approaches to reduce CH4 emissions in ruminants include dietary manipulation, drugs to reduce or control the quantity of methanogenic microorganisms in the gut, and/or vaccination. This review attempts to clarify the state of the art of vaccination as a possible method for CH4 mitigation in ruminants
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