Agriculture & Horticulture

Biography

Rainer Roehe is Professor of Animal Genetics and Microbiome at SRUC. He has a long-term carrier in animal breeding and genomics using trials and cutting-edge bioinformatics to understand the genomic architecture of complex traits in farmed animals. His current research is focusing on host genetic interactions with the microbiome in ruminants and monogastrics to genetically improve important animal trait such as growth, feed conversion efficiency, meat quality, animal stress susceptibility, health, methane emissions, etc. He is using whole genome metagenomic sequencing of samples from the rumen and the intestinal tract to simultaneously identify the relative abundance of the microbial community and the microbial genes. Relating this information to important traits, he developed a new microbiome strategy for improvement of complex traits. The strategy can be used more generally for soil microbial improvement, plant and animal breeding and nutrition, and even to identify the impact of the microbiome on human health.

Abstract

Abstract : The potential impact of the microbiome in future agriculture