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

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目开发了一种技术，可以大大减少畜牧业生产对环境的影响。牲畜的甲烷排放量占全球温室气体排放量的10%以上，为了实现减少气候变化的目标，必须大幅减少这一排放量。与此同时，牛肉和奶牛养殖的利润率很低，导致农民无法采用成本过高的气候友好型做法。该产品可以提高养牛业的盈利能力，同时在实现食品系统净零排放方面发挥关键作用。该团队开发了一种从益生菌酵母中分泌的酶，以消除牛的甲烷排放。该公司之前已经确定了一组限制牛瘤胃中甲烷产生的酶。该项目将进一步开发并将这些酶包装在一种益生菌酵母菌株中，这种酵母菌株已被证明可使牛奶产量提高5%以上，从而为农民提供双重利益。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酶，b)优化进一步减少甲烷的酶，以及c)证明益生菌酵母的酶分泌和酶递送的成本效益。完成这些目标将产生一种产品，该产品将使牛的甲烷排放量减少至少30%，并可能减少高达98%，同时改善牛的健康和生产力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.