ULES - Ultra Low Emission Sheep

甲烷排放是气候变化的主要原因，农民正面临采取行动的压力。英国农业的每个部门都有责任找到减少碳足迹的方法，包括养羊部门。利用基因分型和选择性育种来减少绵羊的甲烷排放是一个巨大的机会。这项可行性研究的主要目标是探索如何利用尖端技术来生产排放量降低10-25%的绵羊。此前，新西兰曾对这一概念进行过研究，研究人员认为，甲烷排放是绵羊的一种遗传特征。这意味着，通过更换羊群中的公羊，可以快速、轻松地管理羊群中的羊排放。该项目将通过比较英国羊的DNA标记和新西兰低甲烷排放羊的DNA标记，致力于培育“超低排放羊”。通过使用美国的DNA标记实验室和新西兰的一家遗传学公司，英国将开发出第一个世界级的育种计划，以推动这项技术的发展。与国际伙伴合作将有助于我们为全球问题制定全球解决方案。该项目还将纳入苏格兰农村学院（SRUC）的现场甲烷测量，该学院是牲畜排放研究的行业领导者。这将为证实英国和新西兰绵羊之间的DNA比较提供真实的数据。此外，我们将考虑在不增加投入的情况下进一步提高肉类和羊毛产量，以减少每公斤肉类的碳排放。羊毛本身就能储存碳，因此增加羊毛产量将进一步固碳——1.4公斤羊毛相当于1公斤碳。其目的是：为英国农民提供世界上碳排放最低、效率最高的羊。

Methane emissions are a major cause of climate change and farmers are coming under pressure to act. Every sector of UK farming is responsible for finding ways to minimise their carbon footprint, including the sheep sector. There's a huge opportunity to use genotyping and selective breeding to drive down methane emissions from sheep. The main goal of this feasibility study is to explore how cutting edge technology can be leveraged to produce sheep with 10-25% lower emissions.Research on this concept has been done in New Zealand previously, leading researchers to believe that methane emissions are a heritable trait in sheep. This means sheep emissions can be managed quickly and easily throughout flocks by changing their rams.This project will work towards breeding 'Ultra-Low Emission Sheep' by comparing UK sheep DNA markers with NZ DNA markers for low methane emitting sheep. By using a USA based laboratory for DNA markers and a genetics company in NZ, the first world class breeding program in the UK to drive this technology forward will be developed. Working with international partners will help us produce a global solution to a global problem.The project will also incorporate in-field methane measurement from Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), who are an industry leader in livestock emissions research. This will provide ground truthing data to confirm the DNA comparison made between the UK and NZ sheep.In addition, we will look at increasing meat and wool yield further to reduce carbon per kg of meat for no increased inputs. Wool itself stores carbon so increasing wool yield will enable further carbon sequestration - 1.4kg of wool stories 1kg of carbon. The aim: to offer UK farmers the world's lowest carbon and most efficient sheep.