Genetic and environmental variation in methane emissions of sheep at pasture

Journal of Animal Science

Volumn 92, Issue 10, 2014, Pages 4349-4363

  Robinson, D L ^a   Goopy, J P ^a   Hegarty, R S ^a   Oddy, V H ^a   Thompson, A N ^a,b,c   Toovey, A F ^d   Macleay, C A ^a,b   Briegal, J R ^a,b   Woodgate, R T ^a   Donaldson, A J ^a   Vercoe, P E ^a,e  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW ENGLAND   (Australia)

^b DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

^c MURDOCH UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

^d CSIRO   (Australia)

^e UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA   (Australia)

Author keywords

Enteric methane; Genetic parameters; Grazing ruminants; Heritability; Sheep

Indexed keywords

METHANE;

ANIMAL; AUSTRALIA; COMPARATIVE STUDY; DOMESTIC SHEEP; ENVIRONMENT; FEMALE; GENETICS; GENOTYPE; GENOTYPE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION; HERBIVORY; MALE; METABOLISM; PHENOTYPE; PHYSIOLOGY; SEASON; TIME;

ANIMALS; AUSTRALIA; ENVIRONMENT; FEMALE; GENE-ENVIRONMENT INTERACTION; GENETICS; GENOTYPE; HERBIVORY; MALE; METABOLISM; METHANE; PHENOTYPE; PHYSIOLOGY; SEASONS; SHEEP, DOMESTIC; TIME FACTORS;

EID: 84907482557     PISSN: 00218812     EISSN: 15253163     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2527/jas.2014-8042     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Allison, D. B., F. Paultre, M. I. Goran, E. T. Poehlman, and S. B. Heymsfield. 1995. Statistical considerations regarding the use of ratios to adjust data. Int. J. Obes. Relat. Metab. Disord. 19:644-652.
2. Animal Selection, Genetics and Genomics Network (ASGGN). 2012. Minutes of the ASGGN Meeting July 21 2012, Cairns, Australia. ASGGN, Australia.
3. Arthur, P. F., R. M. Herd, and J. A. Basarab. 2012. The role of cattle genetically efficient in feed utilisation in an Australian carbon trading environment. Aust. Farm Bus. Manag. J. 7:5-13.
4. Basarab, J. A., K. A. Beauchemin, V. S. Baron, K. H. Ominski, L. L. Guan, S. P. Miller, and J. J. Crowley. 2013. Reducing GHG emissions through genetic improvement for feed efficiency: Effects on economically important traits and enteric methane production. Animal 7:303-315.
5. Bickell, S. L., D. K. Revell, A. F. Toovey, and P. E. Vercoe. 2014. Feed intake of sheep when allowed ad libitum access to feed in methane respiration chambers. J. Anim. Sci. 92:2259-2264.
6. Bickell, S. L., D. L. Robinson, A. F. Toovey, J. P. Goopy, R. S. Hegarty, D. K. Revell, and P. Vercoe. 2011. Four week repeatability of daily and one hour methane production of mature merino wethers fed ad libitum. In: Proc. 19th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Perth, Australia. p. 415-418.
7. Cottle, D. J., J. V. Nolan, and S. G. Wiedemann. 2011. Ruminant enteric methane mitigation: A review. Anim. Prod. Sci. 51:491-514.
8. Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency (DCCEE). 2012. National inventory report 2010 volume 1. www.environment. gov.au/system/files/resources/add6a870-0846-4b62-85ac- 78527144e370/files/national-inventory-report-2010-1.pdf (Accessed 9 May 2013.)
9. Donoghue, K. A., R. M. Herd, S. H. Bird, P. F. Arthur, and R. S. Hegarty. 2013. Preliminary genetic parameters for methane production in Australian beef cattle. In: N. L. Villalobos, editor, Proc. 20th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Napier, New Zealand. p. 290-293.
10. Durunna, O. N., G. Plastow, F. D. N. Mujibi, J. Grant, J. Mah, J. A. Basarab, E. K. Okine, S. S. Moore, and Z. Wang. 2011. Genetic parameters and genotype × environment interaction for feed efficiency traits in steers fed grower and finisher diets. J. Anim. Sci. 89:3394-3400.
11. Fitzsimons, C., D. A. Kenny, M. H. Deighton, A. G. Fahey, and M. McGee. 2013. Methane emissions, body composition, and rumen fermentation traits of beef heifers differing in residual feed intake. J. Anim. Sci. 91:5789-5800.
12. Fogarty, N., R. Banks, J. Van Der Werf, A. Ball, and J. Gibson. 2007. The information nucleus - A new concept to enhance sheep industry genetic improvement. In: Proc. 17th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Armidale, Australia. p. 29-32.
13. Freetly, H. C., and T. M. Brown-Brandl. 2013. Enteric methane production from beef cattle that vary in feed efficiency. J. Anim. Sci. 91:4826-4831.
14. Garnett, E. J. 2012. Evaluation of the greenfeed system for methane estimation from grazing dairy cows. MS Thesis. Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
15. Gerber, P., N. Key, F. Portet, and H. Steinfeld. 2010. Policy options in addressing livestock’s contribution to climate change. Animal 4:393-406.
16. Goopy, J. P., A. Donaldson, R. Hegarty, P. E. Vercoe, F. Haynes, M. Barnett, and V. H. Oddy. 2014a. Low-methane yield sheep have smaller rumens and shorter rumen retention time. Br. J. Nutr. 111:578-585.
17. Goopy, J. P., R. Woodgate, A. Donaldson, D. L. Robinson, and R. S. Hegarty. 2011. Validation of a short-term methane measurement using portable static chambers to estimate daily methane production in sheep. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 166-167:219-226.
18. Grainger, C., T. Clarke, S. M. McGinn, M. J. Auldist, K. A. Beauchemin, M. C. Hannah, G. C. Waghorn, H. Clark, and R. J. Eckard. 2007. Methane emissions from dairy cows measured using the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer and chamber techniques. J. Dairy Sci. 90:2755-2766.
19. Hammond, K., D. J. Humphries, L. A. Crompton, P. Kirton, C. Green, and C. K. Reynolds. 2013. Methane emissions from growing dairy heifers estimated using an automated head chamber (GreenFeed) compared to respiration chambers or SF6 techniques. In: Advances in Animal Biosciences: Proceedings of the 5th Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture Conference (GGAA 2013), Dublin, Ireland. Vol. 4. p. 391.
20. Hegarty, R. S., and J. C. McEwan. 2010. Genetic opportunities to reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminant livestock. In: Proc. 9th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Leipzig, Germany, 1-6 August. Available at: www. kongressband.de/wcgalp2010/assets/pdf/0515.pdf.
21. Herd, R., S. Bird, K. Donoghue, P. Arthur, and R. Hegarty. 2013. Phenotypic associations between methane production traits, volatile fatty acids and animal breeding traits. In: N. L. Villalobos, editor, Proc. 20th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Napier, New Zealand. p. 286-289.
22. Jones, F. M., F. A. Phillips, T. Naylor, and N. B. Mercer. 2011. Methane emissions from grazing Angus beef cows selected for divergent residual feed intake. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 166-167:302-307.
23. Lassen, J., P. Lovendahl, and J. Madsen. 2012. Accuracy of noninvasive breath methane measurements using Fourier transform infrared methods on individual cows. J. Dairy Sci. 95:890-898.
24. Madsen, J., B. S. Bjerg, T. Hvelplund, M. R. Weisbjerg, and P. Lund. 2010. Methane and carbon dioxide ratio in excreted air for quantification of the methane production from ruminants. Livest. Sci. 129:223-227.
25. Nkrumah, J. D., E. K. Okine, G. W. Mathison, K. Schmid, C. Li, J. A. Basarab, M. A. Price, Z. Wang, and S. S. Moore. 2006. Relationships of feedlot feed efficiency, performance, and feeding behavior with metabolic rate, methane production, and energy partitioning in beef cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 84:145-153.
26. O’Kelly, J., and W. Spiers. 1992. Effect of monensin on methane and heat productions of steers fed lucerne hay either ad libitum or at the rate of 250 g/hour. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 43:1789-1793.
27. Pinares-Patiño, C. S., S. M. Hickey, E. A. Young, K. G. Dodds, S. MacLean, G. Molano, E. Sandoval, H. Kjestrup, R. Harland, C. Hunt, N. K. Pickering, and J. C. McEwan. 2013. Heritability estimates of methane emissions from sheep. Animal 7:316-321.
28. Pinares-Patiño, C. S., K. R. Lassey, R. J. Martin, G. Molano, M. Fernandez, S. MacLean, E. Sandoval, D. Luo, and H. Clark. 2011a. Assessment of the sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) tracer technique using respiration chambers for estimation of methane emissions from sheep. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 166-167:201-209.
29. Pinares-Patiño, C. S., J. C. McEwan, K. G. Dodds, E. A. Cárdenas, R. S. Hegarty, J. P. Koolaard, and H. Clark. 2011b. Repeatability of methane emissions from sheep. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 166-167:210-218.
30. Robinson, D. 2005. Accounting for bias in regression coefficients with example from feed efficiency. Livest. Prod. Sci. 95:155-161.
31. Robinson, D. L. 2009. Improving the accuracy of selecting animals for reduced methane emissions. In: A. Safari, B. Pattie, and B. Restall, editors, Proc. 18th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Barossa Valley, South Australia. p. 644-647.
32. Robinson, D. L., S. Bickell, A. F. Toovey, D. K. Revell, and P. E. Vercoe. 2011. Factors affecting variability of feed intake of sheep with ad libitum access to feed and the relationship with daily methane production. In: Proc. 19th Assoc. Advmt. Anim. Breed. Genet., Perth, Australia. p. 159-162.
33. Robinson, D. L., J. P. Goopy, R. S. Hegarty, and P. E. Vercoe. 2010. Repeatability, animal and sire variation in 1-hr methane emissions and relationships with rumen volatile fatty acid concentrations. In: Proceedings of the 9th Word Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Leipzig, Germany, 1-6 August. Available at: www.kongressband.de/wcgalp2010/assets/ pdf/0712.pdf.
34. Robinson, D. L., J. P. Goopy, V. H. Oddy, and R. S. Hegarty. 2014. Sire and liveweight effects on phenotypic relationships between feed intake and methane emissions of sheep in respiration chambers. Animal. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1751731114001773.
35. Robinson, D. L., R. S. Hegarty, J. Miller, and H. Perdok. 2013. Use of autofeeders vs bunk feeding systems affects feed intake and efficiency but not carcass attributes of feedlot cattle. In: Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture Conference Proceedings, Dublin, Ireland. p. 553.
36. Storm, I. M. L. D., A. L. F. Hellwing, N. I. Nielsen, and J. Madsen. 2012. Methods for measuring and estimating methane emission from ruminants. Animals 2:160-183.
37. Tomkins, N. W., S. M. McGinn, D. A. Turner, and E. Charmley. 2011. Comparison of open-circuit respiration chambers with a micrometeorological method for determining methane emissions from beef cattle grazing a tropical pasture. Anim. Feed Sci. Technol. 166-167:240-247.
38. Torok, V. A., F. M. Jones, N. J. Percy, Z. Durmic, F. A. Phillips, T. Naylor, P.E. Vercoe, K. Ophel-Keller. 2011. Changes in rumen microbial ecology are linked with feed efficiency, diet and methane production in beef cattle. In: P. Cronje, editor, Recent Advances in Animal Nutrition - Australia, Armidale, Australia. p. 135-136.
39. van der Werf, J. H. J., B. P. Kinghorn, and R. G. Banks. 2010. Design and role of an information nucleus in sheep breeding programs. Anim. Prod. Sci. 50:998-1003.
40. Whitelaw, F. G., J. M. Brockway, and R. S. Reid. 1972. Measurement of carbon dioxide production in sheep by isotope dilution. Exp. Physiol. 57:37-55.