Abstract
Inefficiencies in the rumen associated with excessive rates of degradation of forage protein have meant that resource capture is poor compared to the potential gains achievable from use of new grass cultivars. Increased rumen efficiency through improved utilization of feed protein will decrease emissions of environmentally damaging wastes and greenhouse gas emissions. New interspecific forage grass hybrids (Festulolium) derived from hybridizing ryegrass species Lolium perenne or Lolium multiflorum with the related fescue species Festuca arundinacea var glaucescens, native to mountain pastures in Mediterranean regions provide an opportunity to enhance ruminant nutrition and provide an environmental safeguard. Under rumen conditions, the fescue protein is degraded at a significantly slower rate than that of ryegrass which should lead to increased efficiency of feed N-utilization and aid livestock gain whilst also reducing N losses that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. Procedures are underway to determine the necessary genome composition required to optimize expression of the fescue trait in a ryegrass genetic background and to determine the most effective plant breeding strategy to ensure that this is achieved. It is hypothesized that mechanisms evolved in the fescue species necessary for adaptations to high temperatures in Mediterranean locations are also functional and relevant for protein protection in stress conditions in the rumen. Combining these with ryegrass-derived traits for forage yield and quality should assist strategies for more sustainable livestock agriculture at a time of climate change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alm V, Busso CS, Ergon Å, Rudi H, Larsen A, Humphreys MW, Rognli OA (2011) A QTL analysis and comparative genetic mapping of frost tolerance, winter survival and drought tolerance in meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis Huds.). Theor Appl Genet 123(3):369–382
Armstead IP, Harper JA, Turner LB, Skot L, King IP, Humphreys MO, Morgan WG, Thomas HM, Roderick HW (2006) Introgression of crown rust (Puccinia coronata) resistance from meadow fescue (Festuca pratensis) into Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum): genetic mapping and identification of associated molecular markers. Plant Pathol 55(1):62–67
Beha EM, Theodorou MK, Thomas BJ, Kingston-Smith AH (2002) Grass cells ingested by ruminants undergo autolysis which differs from senescence: implications for grass breeding targets and livestock production. Plant Cell Environ 25(10):1299–1312.
Ghesquière M, Humphreys MW, Zwierzykowski Z (2010) Festulolium. In: Boller B, Posselt UK, Vernonesi F (eds) Fodder crops and amenity grasses. Springer, Heidelberg, pp 293–316. doi:10.1007/978–1-4419–0760-8_12
Gronnerod S, Fjellheim S, Humphreys MW, Ostrem L, Canter PH, Greig Z, Jorgensen O, Larsen A, Rognli OA (2004) Application of AFLP and GISH techniques for identification of Festuca chromosome segments conferring winter hardiness in a Lolium perenne´Festuca pratensis population developments in plant breeding. Proceedings 3rd international symposium on molecular breeding of forage and turf. Dallas, Texas, USA, pp 18–22, May 2003 (Hopkins A, Wang Z-Y, Mian R, Sledge M, Barker RE, ISBN:1402018673, 11, pp 81–86)
Howarth C, Ougham H (1993) Gene expression under temperature stress. New Phytol 125(1):1–26
Humphreys J, Harper JA, Armstead IP, Humphreys MW (2005) Introgression-mapping of genes for drought resistance transferred from Festuca arundinacea var. glaucescens into Lolium multiflorum. Theor Appl Genet 110(3):579–587
Humphreys MO (1989) Water-soluble carbohydrates in perennial ryegrass breeding. Grass Forage Sci 44(2):237–244
Humphreys MW, Pasakinskiene I (1996) Chromosome painting to locate genes for drought resistance transferred from Festuca arundinacea into Lolium multiflorum. Heredity 77:530–534
Humphreys MW, Thomas H (1993) Improved drought resistance in introgression lines derived from Lolium multiflorum´Festuca arundinacea hybrids. Plant Breeding 111:155–161
Humphreys MW, Canter PJ, Thomas HM (2003) Advances in introgression technologies for precision breeding within the Lolium-Festuca complex. Ann of Appl Biol 143:1–10
Humphreys MW, MacLeod CJA, Whalley WR, Turner LB, Farrell MS, Ghesquiere M, Haygarth PM (2011) Designing grass cultivars for droughts and floods. In: “Breeding strategies for sustainable forage and turf grass improvement”. Proceedings 29th Eucarpia Fodder Crops and Amenity Section Meeting 4th–8th Sept 2011, Dublin Ireland
Jauhar PP (1993). Cytogenetics of the Festuca-Lolium complex. Relevance to breeding. In: Monographs on theoretical and applied genetics 18. Springer, Heidelberg, ISBN 0-387-52113-5
Kingston-Smith A, Theodorou M (2000) Post-ingestion metabolism of fresh forage. New Phytol 148(1):37–55
Kingston-Smith A, Merry R, Leemans D, Thomas H, Theodorou M (2005) Evidence in support of a role for plant-mediated proteolysis in the rumens of grazing animals. Brit J Nutr 93(1):73–79
Kingston-Smith A, Davies T, Edwards J, Theodorou M (2008) From plants to animals; the role of plant cell death in ruminant herbivores. J Exp Bot 59(3):521
Kingston-Smith AH, Edwards JE, Huws SA, Kim EJ, Abberton M (2010) Plant-based strategies towards minimising “livestocks” long shadow’. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2000(69):1–8
Kosmala A, Zwierzykowski Z, Gasior D, Rapacz M, Zwierzykowska E, Humphreys MW (2006) GISH/FISH mapping of genes for freezing tolerance transferred from Festuca pratensis into Lolium multiflorum. Heredity 96(3):243–251
Merry R, Lee M, Davies D, Dewhurst R, Moorby J, Scollan N, Theodorou M (2006) Effects of high-sugar ryegrass silage and mixtures with red clover silage on ruminant digestion. 1. In vitro and in vivo studies of nitrogen utilization. J Anim Sci 84(11):3049
Miller L, Moorby J, Davies D, Humphreys M, Scollan N, Macrae J, Theodorou M (2001) Increased concentration of water-soluble carbohydrate in perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.): milk production from late-lactation dairy cows. Grass Forage Sci 56(4):383–394
Moorby JM, Kingston-Smith AH, Abberton MT, Humphreys MO, Theodorou MK (2008) Improvement of forages to increase the efficiency of nitrogen and energy use by ruminants. In 42nd university of Nottingham feed conference, University of Nottingham
Moore BJ, Donnison IS, Harper JA, Armstead IP, King J, Thomas H, Jones RN, Jones TH, Thomas HM, Morgan WG, Thomas A, Ougham HJ, Huang L, Fentem PA, Roberts LA, King IP (2005) Molecular tagging of a senescence gene by introgression mapping of a mutant stay-green locus from Festuca pratensis. New Phytol 165(3):801–806
Moss AR, Jouany J-P, Newbold J (2000) Methane production by ruminants: its contribution to global warming. Ann Zootech 49:231–253
Nolan JV, Dobos RC (2005) Nitrogen transactions in ruminants. In: Dijkstra J, Forbes JM, France J (eds), Quantitative aspects of ruminant digestion and metabolism, 2nd edn. CABI (Pub), Cambridge (ISBN 0-85199-814-3)
Oweis T, Peden D (2008) Water and livestock. In: Rowlinson P, Steele M, Nefzaoui A (eds), Livestock and global climate change.Cambridge University Press (Pub), pp 19–20 (ISBN 978-0-906562-62-8)
Shaw RK (2006) Effects of gene transfer from Festuca to Lolium on plant-mediated proteolysis. In: IBERS: Animal and Microbial Sciences, Vol PhD: Aberystwyth University
Turner LB, Cairns A, Armstead IP, Thomas H, Humphreys MW, Humphreys MO (2008) Does fructan have a functional role in physiological traits? Investigation by quantitative trait locus mapping. New Phytol 179(3):765–775
Vierling E (1991) The roles of heat shock proteins in plants. Annu Rev Plant Biol 42(1):579–620
Wilkins R, Jones R (2000) Alternative home-grown protein sources for ruminants in the United Kingdom. Anim Feed Sci Tech 85(1–2):23–32
Acknowledgements
This research is sponsored by EBLEX and HCC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this paper
Cite this paper
O’Donovan, S., Kingston-Smith, A., Humphreys, M. (2013). Understanding the Genetic Basis for Slow Plant-Mediated Proteolysis in Festulolium Hybrids. In: Barth, S., Milbourne, D. (eds) Breeding strategies for sustainable forage and turf grass improvement. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4555-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4555-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-4554-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-007-4555-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)