Methanogenesis in monogastric animals.
Abstract: Studies of methanogenic bacteria present in monogastric animals are still scarce. Methanogens have been isolated from faeces of rat, horse, pig, monkey, baboon, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, giant panda, goose, turkey and chicken. The predominant methanogen in all except the chicken and turkey is species of Methanobrevibacterium. The chicken and turkey harbour species of Methanogenium. In pig the population of methanogenic bacteria is more than 30 times as dense in the distal colon as in the caecum. This finding is in agreement with the finding that the rate of methane production is much higher in the colon than in the ceacum. The amount of methane excreted clearly seems to depend on the amount of non-starch polysaccharide intake.The directly measured methane production rate in pigs is from 3.3 to 3.8 times lower than the amount expected from stoichiometric estimates. These data, together with data showing that only small net amounts of hydrogen and small amounts of methane are produced in the ceacum and proximal colon where the microbial activity is high, clearly indicate that hydrogen sinks other than methane production are involved in hydrogen removal in the hindgut of pigs and probably also in other monogastric animals.Methane production by monogastric animals is lower than methane production by ruminants. However, methane production by large herbivorous monogastric animals such as horses, mules and asses is substantial (up to 80 l per animal per day). Methane production by rodents and avians is low. In general, methane production by wild animals is lower than methane production by domestic animals. It is concluded that the contribution of monogastric animals to the global methane emission is negligible, as it only represent about 5% of the total methane emission by domestic and wild animals of 80 Tg per year.
Publication Date: 1996-09-01 PubMed ID: 24193495DOI: 10.1007/BF00394044Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research article investigated the production of methane by monogastric animals (those with a single stomach), revealing that such animals contribute minimally to global methane emissions, accounting for only about 5% of the total methane emission by domestic and wild animals per year.
Methane Producers Among Monogastric Animals
- The researchers found that different types of methanogenic or methane-producing bacteria are present in various monogastric animals, including rats, horses, pigs, monkeys, baboons, rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, giant pandas, geese, turkeys, and chickens.
- Most of these animals predominantly carry a species of bacteria known as Methanobrevibacterium, while in chickens and turkeys a different methanogen, Methanogenium, was the dominant species.
Comparing Methane Density and Production Rates
- In pigs, the population of methane-producing bacteria was found to be 30 times denser in the distal colon than in the caecum (the beginning of the large intestine).
- This observation is consistent with their findings that methane production is much higher in the colon than in the caecum.
- It was also found that methane excretion seems to correlate with non-starch polysaccharide intake — meaning that the more of these polysaccharides the animal eats, the more methane it produces.
- However, the methane production rate is generally lower than what was expected based on stoichiometric estimates – calculations used to predict reactants and products in chemical reactions.
Evidence of Other Hydrogen Sinks
- The researchers also discovered that only small net amounts of hydrogen and methane are produced in the caecum and proximal colon, areas of high microbial activity.
- This suggests other hydrogen sinks, apart from methane production, play a critical role in hydrogen removal in the hindgut of pigs and most likely other monogastric animals as well. An example might be sulphate reduction – whereby sulphate is reduced to sulphide in the presence of organic matter.
Methane Production in Monogastric Animals Versus Ruminants
- As a general rule, monogastric animals produce less methane than ruminants (animals with a multi-chambered stomach such as cows, sheep and goats).
- However, the research points out that large herbivorous monogastric animals like horses, mules, and asses still contribute significantly to methane emissions, producing up to 80 liters per animal per day.
- On the other hand, rodents and birds tend to produce less methane. In fact, wild monogastric animals overall produce less methane than domestic ones.
Global Methane Emission
- Interestingly, despite the substantial methane emission by some large herbivorous monogastrics, overall, the contributions of monogastric animals to global methane emissions are negligible.
- This study concludes that monogastric animals contribute only about 5% of total methane emissions from domestic and wild animals, which is 80 Tg per year.
Cite This Article
APA
Jensen BB.
(1996).
Methanogenesis in monogastric animals.
Environ Monit Assess, 42(1-2), 99-112.
https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00394044 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Nutrition, Research Centre Foulum, Danish Institute of Animal Science, P.O. Box 39, DK-8830, Tjele, Denmark.
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Citations
This article has been cited 12 times.- Wunderlich G, Bull M, Ross T, Rose M, Chapman B. Understanding the microbial fibre degrading communities & processes in the equine gut.. Anim Microbiome 2023 Jan 12;5(1):3.
- Johnson ACB, Biddle AS. A Standard Scale to Measure Equine Keeper Status and the Effect of Metabolic Tendency on Gut Microbiome Structure.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Jul 1;11(7).
- Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Uchida-Fujii E, Nukada T. Establishment and assessment of an amplicon sequencing method targeting the 16S-ITS-23S rRNA operon for analysis of the equine gut microbiome.. Sci Rep 2021 Jun 4;11(1):11884.
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