Media Release: November 27, 2007
COWS COME HOME TO CLIMATE CHANGE FRIENDLY GRASS
Australia–NZ partnership awarded Aus$1.8 M for pasture research
An Australia–New Zealand partnership has won a Aus$1.8 million grant to develop new pasture grass varieties that are better adapted to climate change.
The funding will help develop a path to market for new pastures produced by Gramina Pty Ltd, a joint venture of the Molecular Plant Breeding Cooperative Research Centre (MPBCRC) and New Zealand's leading rural services group PGG Wrightson.
The grant was awarded by the Australia New Zealand Biotechnology Partnership Fund – a New Zealand Trade and Enterprise initiative designed to encourage trans-Tasman collaboration in the biotechnology industry.
‘We’ll be using our technology to help the Australian dairy industry adapt to future climate changes,’ says MPBCRC CEO Dr Glenn Tong.
Currently, the dairy farming pasture grass of choice is perennial ryegrass, a high quality, highly digestible grass that cows love to eat – and a happy cow is a good milker.
Unfortunately for the dairy industry, perennial ryegrass grows well only in temperate areas — areas that climate change is beginning to turn warmer.
And although growing grasses that thrive in hotter climates climates, so-called warm season grasses, might seem the obvious solution, they are poorly suited to grazing.
The problem is related to lignin, the stiff wiry component of plants that supports their structure and makes the plant cell walls waterproof.
‘Warm season grasses tend to be high in certain kinds of lignin, making them much less digestible than the temperate varieties,’ says Dr Tong.
‘Low digestibility equals a low energy intake, which drops milk production. Plus, the longer cows take to digest these grasses, the more they burp out methane — a major greenhouse gas.’
Dr Tong says that to solve these problems, Gramina will develop new grass varieties with less of the indigestible type of lignin. These grasses would increase cows’ energy intake, leading to higher levels of milk production.
‘You increase the digestibility — you get fewer burps!’
Gramina’s proprietary technologies alter lignin content by changing the activity of specific genes involved in its production. Developed by MPBCRC Chief Scientist Prof German Spangenberg and team, the technology is like a ‘dimmer switch’ for specific types of lignin.
Using warm season grasses will not only lower methane emissions and increase milk production. These grasses grow faster at the higher temperatures found in warmer climates.
They are also adapted to higher levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, which is predicted to increase substantially over the next 30 years. Plus, they are also more water efficient, which is good news for Australia’s drought‑prone environment.
‘This grant will kick start the process of developing warm season grasses by modifying the activity of relevant genes, and will defray some of the substantial commercialisation costs,’ Dr Tong says.
However, there’s still a long way to go. ‘It takes about $50 million to commercialise such a product,’ he explains. ‘So, this is only the start of a very long road.’
Contact:
Molecular Plant Breeding CRC
P: +61 3 9479 1698
E: mpb@molecularplantbreeding.com
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