2026-06-12 中国科学院（CAS）
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research-news/202606/t20260612_1161824.shtml
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv4244
反芻動物のルーメン繊毛虫はメタン排出量を調節する Rumen ciliates modulate methane emissions in ruminants
Fei Xie, Chuanqi Jiang, Zhipeng Li, Jinmei Feng, […] , and Wei Miao
Science Published:30 Apr 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adv4244
Mechanistic model of rumen ciliate–driven methane production.
Abstract
Rumen ciliates are major contributors to enteric methane emissions from ruminant animals, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. We present a catalog of 450 rumen ciliate genomes, with 87% newly generated. Using this resource, we quantified methane emissions from 100 cows and analyzed 1877 rumen metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets, which revealed correlations among ciliate abundance, methanogen abundance, and methane emissions. We further demonstrated that taxon-specific effects of rumen ciliates on methane production arise from a single-membrane, hydrogen-producing organelle called the hydrogenobody (HB), which is distinct from canonical hydrogenosomes in other protists. HBs are positioned near ciliary basal bodies and harbor specific hydrogenases and oxygen reductases. We found that Vestibuliferida ciliates, which have more abundant HBs than do Entodiniomorphida, exhibit enhanced hydrogen production and oxygen-scavenging capacity, thereby strongly promoting methanogenesis.
