Use of 3-NOP for methane mitigation by programming rumen microbiome development in calves

Summary

An investigational compound, 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP), developed by DSM, is a promising and extensively evaluated feed additive designed to reduce methane emissions from ruminants.

An MLA study (B.FLT.5010) has shown promising results regarding 3-NOP’s efficacy for reducing methane production from feedlot cattle.

Recent evidence suggests that changes in colonisation of the rumen by microbes prior to weaning may influence the rumen and modify function later in life.

Novel ways of delivering 3-NOP to grazing cattle under extensive conditions are currently under development. This project aims to demonstrate that 3-NOP, delivered to calves from birth, will influence the rumen microbiome development in a way that reduction in methane will persist for a long time after treatment has stopped, thereby maximising the emission reduction effect on animals in extensive grazing systems.

Objectives

The overall objective of the project is to provide an understanding of factors that shape the interactions between the rumen microbiome and the host, and to test whether interventions with a compound administered in early life will modify the colonisation of the rumen and alter enteric methanogenesis.

This project will test the hypothesis that 3-NOP provided as a feed additive in the pre-ruminant calf will alter the composition of the methanogen and bacterial community, thus reducing methane emissions and improving rumen digestive efficiency and productivity which will persist into later life after the inhibitor has been withdrawn.

Benefits to industry

Technologies that significantly reduce enteric methane emissions from ruminants in grazing operations would help to achieve industry’s goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030 (CN30). This has benefits for the industry’s reputation as a global leader in sustainable food production and is a key point of difference for Australian red meat in the global market.