Rumen adapted for future feeds to improve animal health and performance

Research drivers:

• Ruminant-derived products account for ~43% of our primary industries exports.
• > 95% of milk produced in New Zealand is exported.
• More drought in NZ and particularly Northland.
• Change in pasture composition.
• Drought resistant grasses are difficult to breakdown.

Research objectives:

1. - Cultivation and genome sequencing of rumen microbes.
2. - Microbiome-informed investigation of C₄ grass adapted rumens.
3. - In vitro assessment of C₄ versus C₃ grasses on rumen fermentation.
4. - Genome-scale rumen metabolic models (GERM) for C₄ grass biodegradation.