We count on livestock for food and fiber, but raising these animals also produces an atmosphere-warming gas: methane. Those emissions mainly come from gut microbes — the bacteria and archaea breaking down plant matter. So since 2010, the JGI has supported researchers studying those microbial methane-makers. Eventually, that could help us dial back their emissions, while still producing things like meat, milk, and wool. Hear more from JGI collaborators Sinead Leahy (New Zealand Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Research Centre) and Bill Kelly (AgResearch).

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• Video: More on the AgResearch DNA sequencing of rumen microbes
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