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ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL OF A NOVEL FEED ADDITIVE AND AN UNSATURATED FAT ALONE AND IN COMBINATION TO LOWER METHANE EMISSION FROM CATTLE AND REDUCE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE by Megan Lillis Smith A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the University of Delaware in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Animal and Food Sciences Fall 2017 © 2017 Megan Lillis Smith All Rights Reserved ASSESSING THE POTENTIAL OF A NOVEL FEED ADDITIVE AND AN UNSATURATED FAT ALONE AND IN COMBINATION TO LOWER METHANE EMISSION FROM CATTLE AND REDUCE THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE by Megan Lillis Smith Approved: __________________________________________________________ Limin Kung, Jr., Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Animal and Food Sciences Approved: __________________________________________________________ Mark Rieger, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Approved: __________________________________________________________ Ann L. Ardis, Ph.D. Senior Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Education I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Limin Kung, Jr., Ph.D. Professor in charge of dissertation I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Tanya Gressley, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Amy Biddle, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee I certify that I have read this dissertation and that in my opinion it meets the academic and professional standard required by the University as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Signed: __________________________________________________________ Karen Beauchemin, Ph.D. Member of dissertation committee DEDICATION To my loving husband, Manfred E. Marschewski, for all your support and encouragement in furthering my education, without which this process would have been more difficult. I look forward to your continued strength and inspiration in our future endeavors. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to sincerely thank everyone who made this dissertation probable. Special thanks goes out to my advisor, Dr. Limin Kung, Jr. (University of Delaware) and Dr. Karen Beauchemin, Ph.D. (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research and Development Centre) who helped make this research possible. I would also like to thank the other members of my graduate committee; Dr. Tanya Gressley, Ph.D. (University of Delaware) and Dr. Amy Biddle, Ph.D. (University of Delaware). Their combined patience and expertise with my research was exceptional and I truly would not have been able to complete this dissertation without them. This experiment would not have been possible without the outstanding efforts of the girls at the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. Special thanks to the heifers; Evangelista (#2), Hutton (#6), Kerr (#8), Klum (#9), Ireland (#10), Kate Moss (#11), Elle (#12), and Brinkley (#21). Their dedication and involvement in this experiment was impeccable. I would like to recognize the combined efforts from the staff at the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. Thank you to Diwakar Vayas (Biologist) for help with overall experiment. Thank you to Bev Farr (Research Technician), Karen Andrews (Research Technician), Lucia Holtshausen (Biologist), Rena Roth (Research Technician), Darrell Vedras (Research Technician), Brett Hill (Research v Technician) and Nicholaus Johnson (Research Technician) for their assistance with sampling and laboratory analysis. I would also like to acknowledge and give thanks to the farm crews who were directly responsible for daily feeding and general animal care while my animals were housed at both the Dairy Metabolism Unit and the Controlled Environment Building, including; Graham Steacy (Farm Manager), Monti Coates (Animal Care Attendant), Ryan Meggison (Herdsperson), Tammy Schmaltz (Herdsperson), David Schmaltz (Herdsperson), Nick Cushman (Herdsperson), Dave Croy (General Laborer) and Dale Williamson (Herdsperson) as well as the undergraduate students who assisted me with my trial including Pierre Landard, Sharissa Yellow Horn, Sydnee Calhoun, Katie Gerber, and Zack McAllister. Thank you to David Rolland (Laboratory Technician) and the Agriculture and Agri-food Canada Lacombe Research and Developmental Centre for their help and expertise with my fatty acid analysis. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Manfred Marschewski, and our families who have always been there to support me and the decisions I have made, no matter how far away from home they may lead me. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS NOMENCLATURE ...................................................................................................... xi LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... xvi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................... xviii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................ xxi Chapter 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................... 1 An Overview of the Greenhouse Effect and Global Warming ........................... 1 The Greenhouse Effect ................................................................................. 1 Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases ...................................................... 2 Water vapor ............................................................................................ 3 Carbon dioxide ....................................................................................... 4 Methane .................................................................................................. 5 Nitrous Oxide ......................................................................................... 7 Trace gases and small molecules ............................................................ 7 Sources of Anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas Emissions ............................. 11 Energy ................................................................................................... 12 Agriculture ............................................................................................ 12 Industrial Processes and Product Use ................................................... 13 Waste Disposal ..................................................................................... 14 Land-Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry ......................................... 14 Enteric Fermentation and Methanogenesis in the Rumen ................................ 14 Enteric fermentation ................................................................................... 14 Methanogenesis in the rumen ..................................................................... 20 Rumen methanogens ............................................................................ 21 Methanogenesis substrates and pathways ............................................ 25 Hydrogenotrophic pathway ............................................................ 25 Methylotrophic pathway ................................................................. 27 vii Aceticlastic pathway ....................................................................... 28 Methyl Coenzyme-M Reductase .......................................................... 29 Structure ......................................................................................... 29 Mode of action ................................................................................ 30 Alternative hydrogen sinks ......................................................................... 30 Fumarate reduction ............................................................................... 31 Reductive acetogenesis ......................................................................... 31 Nitrate and nitrite reduction .................................................................. 33 Sulfate reduction ................................................................................... 34 Biohydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids ........................................ 36 Methane Mitigation Strategies ......................................................................... 36 Dietary fat ............................................................................................. 37 Chemical inhibitors .............................................................................. 38 Non-specific ................................................................................... 38 Specific ........................................................................................... 39 Conclusion .......................................................................................................