Methane and carbon dioxide production from dairy bulls selected for divergent enteric methane emissions per unit of feed eaten and that from their daughters
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Enteric methane emissions can be measured on male and female cattle, unlike traditional dairy production phenotypes where a sire's breeding value is estimated from the performance of his female relatives. It is, however, important to validate that young dairy sires are a good model for female dairy animals, by confirming that phenotypic differences in CH 4 emissions in bulls are observed in their daughters. Methane emissions and DMI were measured in a population of young dairy bulls (n = 486) in an indoor feeding trial for 5 wk. An estimated CH 4 breeding value (metEBV) of CH 4 production adjusted for the genetic variance of DMI was created and used to select 25 high metEBV and 25 low metEBV bulls to sire a cohort of heifers. The mean metEBV of the high and low sire groups, respectively, were 1.3 and −1.4 g CH 4 /kg DM. There was a phenotypic difference in CH 4 yield of ∼8 g CH 4 /kg DM; although the sire groups had a similar DMI, the low metEBV sire group had lower daily CH 4 production than the high metEBV sire group. A population of 393 daughters of high and low metEBV sires were subsequently measured for DMI and CH 4 production in an indoor feeding trial for 5 wk in 1 of 4 lots between 9 and 15 mo of age. The nonlactating heifers from low metEBV sires produced less methane per day, with a similar DMI compared with the nonlactating heifers from high metEBV sires. Furthermore, the daughters of low metEBV sires had a lower CH 4 yield (∼0.8 g CH 4 /kg DM per day) compared with the daughters of high metEBV sires. This dataset provided further opportunity to explore phenotypic relationships between CH 4 , CO 2 , and DMI to scope proxies for future phenotype collection. Carbon dioxide production was investigated as a proxy measure for DMI, and the ratio of CH 4 to CO 2 was also calculated as a trait to be investigated as a proxy for CH 4 yield. A strong phenotypic correlation between CO 2 and DMI, and the CH 4 yield and CH 4 : CO 2 ratio was identified for both sires and daughters, which requires further investigation in a larger dataset, but suggests these could be suitable proxies. Further research is required to measure the CH 4 emissions of these daughters during their first lactation, to confirm the phenotypic differences between the daughters of high and low metEBV are observed during lactation.
Source: Journal of Dairy Science
Authors: O.K. Spaans, G.C. Waghorn, G.M. Worth, P. van Elzakker, R.J. Spelman, L.R. McNaughton
Institution: Livestock Improvement Corporation
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDGs: Zero hunger, Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,500
Awards: G7064303498, G7469476557
OpenAlex ID: W4416972467