image: The fistulated cow system allows direct access into the animal’s foregut. This enabled researchers to incubate biomass-containing nylon bags to isolate rumen microbes associated with a defined plant substrate to identify genes and genomes participating in biomass deconstruction. This image relates to an article that appeared in the Jan. 28, 2011, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. Matthias Hess of Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute in Walnut Creek, Calif., and colleagues was titled, "Metagenomic Discovery of Biomass-Degrading Genes and Genomes from Cow Rumen." view more
Credit: Image courtesy of Jonas Løvaas Gjerstad