manure metagenome Targeted loci environmental. manure metagenome

Spontaneous foaming in deep-pit swine manure storage accumulates methane and is a threat to the welfare of both human and animal in pork production industry. To understand the microbial drivers behind the foaming manure methane accumulation, we collected pit manure samples from barns across Iowa for 13 months. We integrated swine feed information, manure characteristics, bacterial community (16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing), and methanogen communities (mcrA gene amplicon sequencing to identify the key characteristics and microbial organisms that were unique in foaming and non-foaming pit-manure. By using correlation analysis, we identified the potential microbial organisms that could influence the pit-manure community structures and potentially be used in foaming manure mitigation.