PhD funded research

Livestock Metabolomics: Investigating Metabolic Signatures of Methane Mitigation in Beef Cattle

Overview

Enteric methane from cattle is a major contributor to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and a significant loss of dietary energy. This fully funded PhD will use untargeted metabolomics to investigate the long‑term metabolic impacts of methane‑suppressing feed additives in the rumen microbiota of beef cattle, identifying biomarkers linked to methane reduction, animal performance, health, and sustainability.

This project will apply advanced untargeted metabolomics to beef cattle research, aiming to identify metabolic signatures and biomarkers associated with methane reduction, feed efficiency, animal performance, health, welfare, and sustainability. By combining AFBI’s expertise in sustainable livestock systems and applied animal research with the University of Liverpool’s strengths in metabolomics and analytical platforms, this project offers an exciting opportunity for talented candidates interested in climate‑smart livestock production and cutting‑edge omics science.

Research background

Agriculture contributes approximately 27% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Northern Ireland, with ruminant livestock representing the largest source. Enteric methane (CH₄) emissions from cattle account for more than half of farm‑gate emissions and remain a major challenge in achieving the UK’s Net Zero targets by 2050. While improvements in genetics, nutrition, and productivity have reduced methane intensity per unit of meat produced, further reductions are required to offset increasing global demand for animal protein.

Methane production in the rumen represents not only an environmental concern but also a loss of 2–12% of dietary energy consumed by the animal. Recent advances in methane‑suppressing feed additives, including TRADILIN 130 and Asparagopsis spp., have demonstrated considerable potential to reduce methane emissions. However, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding their long‑term effects on animal performance, metabolism, health, rumen microbial ecology, welfare, and beef quality. In particular, little is known about the systemic metabolic adaptations of the rumen microbiota associated with sustained methane mitigation strategies and whether specific metabolic signatures can predict methane emissions, feed efficiency, or animal resilience.

This fully funded PhD project will address these knowledge gaps by applying state‑of‑the‑art untargeted metabolomics to investigate the metabolic responses of dairy‑origin beef cattle exposed to methane‑suppressing feed additives throughout their entire production cycle. The project will generate novel insights into the biological mechanisms underpinning methane reduction and identify biomarkers associated with improved productivity and sustainability.

Aims and Objectives

• Evaluate the long‑term effects of methane‑suppressing feed additives on animal growth, feed efficiency, health, and welfare.
• Conduct comprehensive untargeted metabolomic profiling of serum, plasma and rumen fluid samples collected across key developmental stages.
• Identify metabolic pathways and biomarkers associated with methane reduction, feed efficiency, animal health, and productive performance.
• Integrate metabolomics data with methane emissions, rumen microbiome composition, and animal phenotypes to improve understanding of host–microbiome interactions.

Training and Collaboration

This PhD project is supported by the Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Systems Biology (BCSB) at the University of Liverpool, the Department of Chemistry and the Sustainable Livestock Systems Branch at the Agri‑Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), Northern Ireland.

The PhD student will be based at the University of Liverpool’s centre for metabolomics research (CMR), which is equipped with the state‑of‑the‑art mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, as well as Raman and infrared microspectroscopy instrumentations, and is a world leader in this area.

The student will also be associated with AFBI, which is providing full funding for the student and the research project. At AFBI, the student will undertake field and lab work to investigate the long‑term metabolic impacts of methane‑suppressing feed additives in beef cattle. The student will be trained and responsible for professional conduct of animal handling and field work across the production cycle, including monitoring cattle performance, data recording, health and welfare, and collecting biological samples (i.e., serum, plasma, rumen fluid, etc.) at multiple timepoints of the animal’s developmental stages. The student will also be supporting the collection of methane emissions data, rumen microbiome, phenotypic data/samples and any other task required for the project. By engaging in the sample collection and data analysis, the student will have the opportunity to develop expertise under the guidance of AFBI technicians and research scientists while developing hands‑on experience using AFBI’s cutting‑edge, high‑tech animal facilities and equipment.

Additional infomation:

Start date: 25 January 2027

Full‑time study over four years.

Funding: Full tuition fees plus stipend (subject to eligibility)

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