Ruminomics EU Project : Deep metagenome sequencing of European cows rumen samples

The aim of the project is to integrate expertise and technologies to increase rumen efficiency and decrease the environmental footprint of ruminant production, significantly advancing current knowledge in this sector. The project will exploit state-of-the-art –omics technologies to understand how ruminant gastrointestinal microbial ecosystems, or microbiomes, are controlled by the host animal and by the diet consumed, and how this impacts on greenhouse gas emissions, efficiency and product quality.One of the study performed in the project was the analysis of shotgun metagenomic sequencing of the rumen microbiome for 60 cows from 4 european countries, Italy, Sweden, Finland and UK, selected from a population of 1000 cows based on methane emission levels measured on the animals in the farms.http://www.ruminomics.eu