Inhibition of methanogenesis

描述：（由申请人提供）本项目的目标是开发一个 反刍动物中甲烷形成的新抑制剂。目前，莫能菌素， 一种相对非特异性的抗生素，广泛用于畜牧业。 莫能菌素通过减少甲烷和二氧化碳的排放来提高农业生产力， 增加丙酸产量;然而，它也抑制乙酸生成， 对动物来说是一个有益的过程。我们将针对一个特定的生物合成 催化产甲烷微生物生存的重要步骤的酶， 它们是真核生物界的成员，但不存在于真核生物中， 细菌特异性甲烷生成抑制剂将具有以下益处： 莫能菌素对提高生产力没有不利影响， 抗生素的使用它应该有很大的市场价值。立即 预计将用于饲养场的牛、猪和羊。这种抑制剂 也可用于减少人胃肠道中的甲烷产生。以来 家畜是全球最大的甲烷来源， 反刍动物的甲烷生成具有减轻 温室效应我们的计划是合成和表征的抑制剂， 生物合成酶，在浓度为10 微摩尔或更低。 拟定商业应用： 我们计划开发一种甲烷生成抑制剂，以取代广泛用于饲养场牛的莫能菌素。如果考虑仅在饲养场牛上使用抑制剂，估计可获得约17亿美元。目前，仅在美国使用莫能菌素（瘤胃素）的成本就为3.83亿美元。

DESCRIPTION:(provided by applicant) The goal of this project is to develop a novel inhibitor of methane formation in ruminant animals. Currently, monensin, a relatively nonspecific antibiotic, is widely used in the livestock industry. Monensin increases agricultural productivity by decreasing methane and increasing propionate production; however, it also inhibits acetogenesis, which is a beneficial process for the animal. We will target a specific biosynthetic enzyme that catalyzes an essential step for survival of methanogenic microbes, which are members of the kingdom Archaea, yet is not present in eukaryotes or bacteria. A specific methanogenesis inhibitor would have the benefits of monensin on increased productivity without the detrimental effect of antiobiotic use. It should have significant market value. The immediate projected use would be on feedlot cattle, pigs, and sheep. Such an inhibitor could also be used to decrease methane production in the human Gl tract. Since domesticated livestock is the largest global source of methane, inhibiting methanogenesis by ruminant animals has the potential of mitigating the greenhouse effect. Our plan is to synthesize and characterize inhibitors of the biosynthetic enzyme that arrest methanogenesis at a concentration of 10 micromolar or lower. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: We plan to develop an inhibitor of methanogenesis that would replace monensin, which is widely used on feedlot cattle. If one considers the use of an inhibitor only on feedlot cattle, an estimate about $1.7 billion dollars can be made. Currently, the cost of monensin (rumensin) use in the US alone is $383 million.