IN BRIEF

18 July 1997

IN BRIEF

NON-bloating legumes could be developed by genetic engineering, the International Grassland Congress in Canada has heard.

Bloat is caused by production of a stable foam in the rumen during the initial rapid fermentation of proteins in fresh legume forage. Delegates heard that genes needed to create non-bloating lucerne and white clover might come from tropical plants containing tannins which protect proteins from microbial breakdown in the rumen.