This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Williams, Y. J.
Right arrow Articles by Wright, A.-D. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Williams, Y. J.
Right arrow Articles by Wright, A.-D. G.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Williams, Y. J.
Right arrow Articles by Wright, A.-D. G.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 1860-1866, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02453-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

A Vaccine against Rumen Methanogens Can Alter the Composition of Archaeal Populations{triangledown}

Yvette J. Williams,{dagger} Sam Popovski,{ddagger} Suzanne M. Rea,§ Lucy C. Skillman, Andrew F. Toovey, Korinne S. Northwood,|| and André-Denis G. Wright*

CSIRO Livestock Industries, Centre for Environment and Life Sciences, Private Bag 5, Wembley, Western Australia 6913, Australia

Received 26 October 2008/ Accepted 30 January 2009

The objectives of this study were to formulate a vaccine based upon the different species/strains of methanogens present in sheep intended to be immunized and to determine if a targeted vaccine could be used to decrease the methane output of the sheep. Two 16S rRNA gene libraries were used to survey the methanogenic archaea in sheep prior to vaccination, and methanogens representing five phylotypes were found to account for >52% of the different species/strains of methanogens detected. A vaccine based on a mixture of these five methanogens was then formulated, and 32 sheep were vaccinated on days 0, 28, and 103 with either a control or the anti-methanogen vaccine. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis revealed that each vaccination with the anti-methanogen formulation resulted in higher specific immunoglobulin G titers in plasma, saliva, and rumen fluid. Methane output levels corrected for dry-matter intake for the control and treatment groups were not significantly different, and real-time PCR data also indicated that methanogen numbers were not significantly different for the two groups after the second vaccination. However, clone library data indicated that methanogen diversity was significantly greater in sheep receiving the anti-methanogen vaccine and that the vaccine may have altered the composition of the methanogen population. A correlation between 16S rRNA gene sequence relatedness and cross-reactivity for the methanogens (R2 = 0.90) also exists, which suggests that a highly specific vaccine can be made to target specific strains of methanogens and that a more broad-spectrum approach is needed for success in the rumen. Our data also suggest that methanogens take longer than 4 weeks to adapt to dietary changes and call into question the validity of experimental results based upon a 2- to 4-week acclimatization period normally observed for bacteria.

* Corresponding author. Present address: CSIRO Livestock Industries, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd., St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia. Phone: 61 7 3214 2200. Fax: 61 7 3214 2900. E-mail: andre-denis.wright{at}csiro.au

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 6 February 2009.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Primary Industries Victoria, Kyabram Centre, 120 Cooma Rd., Kyabram, Victoria 3620, Australia.

{ddagger} Present address: CPSU, Level 11, 575 Bourke St., Melbourne, Victoria 3000, Australia.

§ Present address: CSIRO Minerals, Waterford, P.O. Box 90, Bentley, Western Australia 6982, Australia.

Present address: Environmental Biotechnology CRC, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150, Australia.

|| Present address: CSIRO Livestock Industries, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Rd., St. Lucia, Queensland 4067, Australia.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2009, p. 1860-1866, Vol. 75, No. 7
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02453-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Hristov, A. N., Vander Pol, M., Agle, M., Zaman, S., Schneider, C., Ndegwa, P., Vaddella, V. K., Johnson, K., Shingfield, K. J., Karnati, S. K. R. (2009). Effect of lauric acid and coconut oil on ruminal fermentation, digestion, ammonia losses from manure, and milk fatty acid composition in lactating cows. J DAIRY SCI 92: 5561-5582 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»