SBIR Phase I: Bioengineering probiotic yeast to mitigate methane emissions from cattle

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目开发了一种技术，可以显著减少畜牧业生产对环境的影响。畜牧业的甲烷排放量占全球温室气体排放量的10%以上，必须大幅减少，才能实现气候变化减排目标。与此同时，牛肉和乳制品养殖业的利润率很低，导致农民无法采用成本过高的气候友好型做法。这种产品可以增加养牛业的盈利能力，同时在实现食品系统净零排放方面发挥关键作用。该团队开发了从益生菌酵母中分泌的酶，以消除牛的甲烷排放。该公司此前已经确定了一套限制牛瘤胃甲烷产生的酶。该项目将进一步开发这些酶，并将其包装在益生菌酵母菌株中，该菌株已被证明可将牛奶产量提高5%以上，从而为农民提供双重好处。项目的成功需要a)筛选酶库以确定减少瘤胃甲烷的主要候选者，b)优化酶以进一步减少甲烷，以及c)展示益生菌酵母的酶分泌和经济高效的酶输送。完成这些目标将生产出一种产品，该产品将减少牛甲烷排放至少30%，可能高达98%，同时改善牛的健康和生产力。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project develops a technology that could drastically reduce the impact of livestock production on the environment. Methane emissions from livestock account for over 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which must be reduced significantly in order to meet climate change reduction targets. Simultaneously, profit margins in beef and dairy farming are slim, leaving farmers unable to adopt climate-friendly practices that are too costly. This product could increase the profitability of cattle farming while playing a key role in achieving net zero emissions from the food system.This team develops enzymes to be secreted from a probiotic yeast to eliminate methane emissions from cattle. The company has previously identified a set of enzymes that restrict methane production in the rumen of cattle. This project will further develop and package these enzymes in a probiotic yeast strain which has already been shown to increase milk yield by over 5%, thereby offering a dual benefit to the farmers. Project success requires a) screening an enzyme library to identify lead candidates for reduction of rumen methane, b) optimizing enzymes for further methane reduction, and c) demonstrating enzyme secretion and cost-efficient enzyme delivery by the probiotic yeast. Completion of these objectives will yield a product that will decrease cattle methane emissions by a minimum of 30%, and potentially by up to 98%, while simultaneously improving the health and productivity of cattle.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.