The rumen is a complex, dynamic ecosystem composed of mainly anaerobic bacteria, protozoa, anaerobic fungi, methanogenic archaea and phages which interact with each other and provide the host with energy from the breakdown of plant cell wall carbohydrates that are largely inedible by human. This breakdown of carbohydrates results in generation of hydrogen and the production of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), which provide energy to the host. The hydrogen produced is used by the rumen methanogens to produce the greenhouse gas, methane, which is eructed from the animal, thus contributing to climate change. However, production of some of the VFAs, particularly propionate, results in hydrogen utilisation and keeps it away from methanogenesis. Therefore, enhancing the representation of proprionate-producing bacteria in the rumen is highly beneficial.
However, our understanding and ability to manipulate most microbiomes, including the rumen, is hindered by poor culture collections and a lack of effort placed on culturing in an era that has seen an explosion in ‘omic technologies. Nonetheless, the emphasis on culture, termed culturomics when combined with genome sequencing, is returning due to the availability of enhanced culturing methodologies. The Hungate collection project sequenced 410 rumen microbes (published 2018), providing a step-change in our understanding of rumen function.
This project will utilise this foundation of the Hungate collection and employ the new innovations in microbial culture to provide a major paradigm shift in
1. Ability to understand rumen microbial function,
2. Mechanistic understanding of the action of feed interventions to mitigate methane,
3. Provision of potential direct-fed microbials to re-direct hydrogen away from methanogenesis, and
4. Microbial resource availability for bioactive compound discovery.
