Fruitful discussions at the Global Methane Genetics working group meetings

The GMG initiative includes six working groups (dairy, beef, sheep, Africa, Latin America, and the microbiome). In the working group meetings, project teams presented updates on ongoing projects, and there was plenty of room for discussion. The meetings were well attended, with up to 65 participants.

Active data collection

A key theme across all meetings was the collection of data. Each project of GMG is currently gathering new data or merging datasets from different countries and breeds. For example, the beef group is linking projects across countries to create a genetic reference dataset for the very diverse beef population in the US. And the microbiome group is combining methane phenotypes with rumen microbiome data. In several meetings, participants suggested additional data sources that could benefit the projects. Alongside data collection, some groups focus on developing protocols for data measurement and genetic evaluation.

Knowledge exchange

The meetings provided a valuable platform for participants to exchange practical tips and insights with regard to breeding for low methane emitting ruminants. For instance, in the microbiome group, participants discussed how to manage microbiome data from cows receiving feed additives such as Bovaer. There were also discussions on which meta-data are needed per animal for genetic evaluations and how to handle methane data from different devices. These discussions not only benefited the GMG teams, but also provided useful information for those outside the initiative to start collecting relevant data for their own projects.

Do you want to learn more? You can find the presentations of the working group meetings here: ICAR WIKI Global Methane Genetics working groups

For more information or questions, please contact gmg@wur.nl.