Bezos fund gives £1.2 million to develop livestock methane vaccine

Research by the Royal Veterinary College will explore how methane-producing microorganisms colonise the gastro-intestinal (GI) tract of calves to impact the developing immune system. It aims to identify the best method to administer any potential vaccine to reduce methane production from livestock and reduce emissions.

The work is a collaboration between RVC and the Estación Experimental del Zaidín of the Spanish National Research Council, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones (CSIC). 

Controlling livestock-based methane emissions without affecting productivity offers the chance to significantly reduce the pace of climate change, says the RVC.

Methane emissions derive mostly from enteric fermentation, as the digestive system breaks down grass and hay fibres for nutrients. Analysis has identified that the main intervention to reduce this type is by directly targeting methanogenic archaea, the microorganism responsible.

The researchers hope to determine when methanogenic archaea colonise and spread through the GI-tract during the earliest weeks of a calf’s life and interact with the immune system.

Jointly leading the work are Dirk Werling, professor of Molecular Immunology and director of the Centre for Vaccinology and Regenerative Medicine at the RVC, with Dr David Yanez-Ruiz, Research Group Leader at CSIC. 

Their teams will collect blood, saliva, ingesta and colostrum samples from Holstein-Friesian calves and their mothers, identifying microbes and creating cultures that can be shared for further analysis, as well as modifying and testing the methanogen.

Said Yanez-Ruiz: “The collaboration between RVC and CSIC supported by the Bezos Earth Fund is a unique opportunity to bring together rumen microbiology and immunology expertise that will enable us to understand how rumen microbes and the animal establish their dialogue from early life.”

The Bezos Earth Fund has also granted funding to the Pirbright Institute for a separate project to develop an understanding of what antibodies are needed to produce a response to a potential methanogen vaccine.

Dr Andy Jarvis, director of the Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund, commented:

"This project represents a moonshot in our efforts to reduce livestock methane emissions. The potential to apply the proven success of vaccines in global health to cattle and significantly cut emissions is both ambitious and exciting. By supporting high-risk, high-reward research like this, the Bezos Earth Fund is investing in innovative solutions with the potential for a profound global impact."

Pic: James Wheeler