Abstract
The forage legume species biserrula (Biserrula pelecinus) is among a few forage species with low enteric methane emission when fermented by rumen microbes and it is unclear whether metabolites in biserrula play a role in this. The hypothesis of this study was that specific metabolites in biserrula are candidate biomarkers for and associated with low methanogenesis. We characterized the metabolomic profiles of 30 accessions of biserrula or its core collection using nuclear magnetic resonance and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry. These profiles were then analyzed for association with methanogenesis potential in the rumen. Metabolomic profile was predictive of methanogenesis. Forty-seven putative metabolites were identified by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry that were highly expressed (P < 0.05) in the associations with low methanogenic potential. Fragmentation analysis of a subset of these metabolites suggested saponins, with one feature tentatively identified as an ursolic or oleanolic terpene glucoside, consistent with the nuclear magnetic resonance data. Accessions with Eritrean geographic origin were metabolomic outliers. Here, we show for the first time that some metabolites contribute to the methane mitigation effects of biserrula. If in vivo results confirm this, the environmental impact of this study would be the availability of biomolecules for livestock vaccination to mitigate methane emission resulting in an economic impact of lower cost of production in countries with a price on environmental emissions.
Highlights
CH4 is a common byproduct of anaerobic microbial fermentation of forage in the rumen (Fig. 1a)
The accessions cluster based on methanogenic potential with low and high groups separated on PC1 and the very high group separated on PC2
The hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) showed that the clustering of the accessions by their methanogenic potential was in line with their origin (Fig. 2)
Summary
CH4 is a common byproduct of anaerobic microbial fermentation of forage in the rumen (Fig. 1a). Enteric CH4 emission occurs as a result of microbial fermentation of feed components (Johnson and Johnson 1995). CH4 produced by domesticated ruminants represents a loss of 2–15% of the gross energy intake (Holter and Young 1992), being an important inefficiency in ruminant production systems (Moss et al 2000). To abate CH4 emission and increase the efficiency of digestion in ruminants, the focus is to divert some of the energy lost as CH4 into animal products (Mitsumori and Sun 2008). Enteric fermentation can vary widely depending on factors such as type of the animal, feed intake, the type and quality of feed, environment, adding dietary fat, feed additives, rumen microbiota, and, indirectly, body weight of the animal through feed intake (Moss et al 2000)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
