Elsevier

Journal of Dairy Science

Volume 100, Issue 2, February 2017, Pages 855-870
Journal of Dairy Science

Review
Invited review: Phenotypes to genetically reduce greenhouse gas emissions in dairying

https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2016-11246Get rights and content
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ABSTRACT

Phenotypes have been reviewed to select for lower-emitting animals in order to decrease the environmental footprint of dairy cattle products. This includes direct selection for breath measurements, as well as indirect selection via indicator traits such as feed intake, milk spectral data, and rumen microbial communities. Many of these traits are expensive or difficult to record, or both, but with genomic selection, inclusion of methane emission as a breeding goal trait is feasible, even with a limited number of registrations. At present, methane emission is not included among breeding goals for dairy cattle worldwide. There is no incentive to include enteric methane in breeding goals, although global warming and the release of greenhouse gases is a much-debated political topic. However, if selection for reduced methane emission became a reality, there would be limited consensus as to which phenotype to select for: methane in liters per day or grams per day, methane in liters per kilogram of energy-corrected milk or dry matter intake, or a residual methane phenotype, where methane production is corrected for milk production and the weight of the cow. We have reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of these traits, and discuss the methods for selection and consequences for these phenotypes.

Key words

environmental phenotypes
greenhouse gases
enteric methane
genomic selection
dairy cattle

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