Effect of Garlic (Allium sativum) oil inclusion on Nutrient Retention and Caeca Microbial Population of Broiler Chickens

 This study was carried to evaluate the “Effect of Garlic (Allium sativum) oil inclusion on nutrient digestibility and caeca microbial population of broiler chickens”. A total of 180 one- day-old (Arbo acre) broiler chicks of mixed sex purchased from a reputable hatchery was used in this study which lasted for eight (8) weeks. The birds were divided into four experimental groups; each group was further subdivided into three replicates of fifteen birds per each in a Complete Randomized Design (CRD). The garlic (Allum sativum) oil was added to the basal diet at (0.00, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 %) level respectively. The treatment were T1, T2, T3, and T4 with T1 serving as control. Parameters measured covered nutrient retention and caeca microbial population. The results on nutrient digestibility showed a significant difference (P<0.05) among the treatments. Percentage digestibility of crude protein and crude fibre was significantly (P<0.05) higher in birds fed 0.3% of garlic oil.&nbsp

Polyphasic taxonomy of the heat resistant ascomycete genus Byssochlamys and its Paecilomyces anamorphs

Byssochlamys and related Paecilomyces strains are often heat resistant and may produce mycotoxins in contaminated pasteurised foodstuffs. A comparative study of all Byssochlamys species was carried out using a polyphasic approach to find characters that differentiate species and to establish accurate data on potential mycotoxin production by each species. Phylogenetic analysis of the ITS region, parts of the β-tubulin and calmodulin genes, macro- and micromorphological examinations and analysis of extrolite profiles were applied. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the genus Byssochlamys includes nine species, five of which form a teleomorph, i.e. B. fulva, B. lagunculariae, B. nivea, B. spectabilis and B. zollerniae, while four are asexual, namely P. brunneolus, P. divaricatus, P. formosus and P. saturatus. Among these, B. nivea produces the mycotoxins patulin and byssochlamic acid and the immunosuppressant mycophenolic acid. Byssochlamys lagunculariae produces byssochlamic acid and mycophenolic acid and thus chemically resembles B. nivea. Some strains of P. saturatus produce patulin and brefeldin A, while B. spectabilis (anamorph P. variotii s.s.) produces viriditoxin. Some micro- and macromorphological characters are valuable for identification purposes, including the shape and size of conidia and ascospores, presence and ornamentation of chlamydospores, growth rates on MEA and CYA and acid production on CREA. A dichotomous key is provided for species identification based on phenotypical characters

Taxonomic revision of Aspergillus section Clavati based on molecular, morphological and physiological data

Aspergillus section Clavati has been revised using morphology, secondary metabolites, physiological characters and DNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis of β-tubulin, ITS and calmodulin sequence data indicated that Aspergillus section Clavati includes 6 species, A. clavatus (synonyms: A. apicalis, A. pallidus), A. giganteus, A. rhizopodus, A. longivesica, Neocarpenteles acanthosporus and A. clavatonanicus. Neocarpenteles acanthosporus is the only known teleomorph of this section. The sister genera to Neocarpenteles are Neosartorya and Dichotomomyces based on sequence data. Species in Neosartorya and Neocarpenteles have anamorphs with green conidia and share the production of tryptoquivalins, while Dichotomomyces was found to be able to produce gliotoxin, which is also produced by some Neosartorya species, and tryptoquivalines and tryptoquivalones produced by members of both section Clavati and Fumigati. All species in section Clavati are alkalitolerant and acidotolerant and they all have clavate conidial heads. Many species are coprophilic and produce the effective antibiotic patulin. Members of section Clavati also produce antafumicin, tryptoquivalines, cytochalasins, sarcins, dehydrocarolic acid and kotanins (orlandin, desmethylkotanin and kotanin) in species specific combinations. Another species previously assigned to section Clavati, A. ingratus is considered a synonym of Hemicarpenteles paradoxus, which is phylogenetically very distantly related to Neocarpenteles and section Clavati

Polyphasic taxonomy of Aspergillus section Cervini

Species belonging to Aspergillus section Cervini are characterised by radiate or short columnar, fawn coloured, uniseriate conidial heads. The morphology of the taxa in this section is very similar and isolates assigned to these species are frequently misidentified. In this study, a polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data, temperature profiles and partial BenA, CaM and RPB2 sequences to examine the relationships within this section. Based on this taxonomic approach the section Cervini is resolved in ten species including six new species: A. acidohumus, A. christenseniae, A. novoguineensis, A. subnutans, A. transcarpathicus and A. wisconsinensis. A dichotomous key for the identification is provided

Diversity and taxonomy of Chaetomium and chaetomium-like fungi from indoor environments

During a study of indoor fungi, 145 isolates belonging to Chaetomiaceae were cultured from air, swab and dust samples from 19 countries. Based on the phylogenetic analyses of DNA-directed RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (rpb2), β-tubulin (tub2), ITS and 28S large subunit (LSU) nrDNA sequences, together with morphological comparisons with related genera and species, 30 indoor taxa are recognised, of which 22 represent known species, seven are described as new, and one remains to be identified to species level. In our collection, 69 % of the indoor isolates with six species cluster with members of the Chaetomium globosum species complex, representing Chaetomium sensu stricto. The other indoor species fall into nine lineages that are separated from each other with several known chaetomiaceous genera occurring among them. No generic names are available for five of those lineages, and the following new genera are introduced here: Amesia with three indoor species, Arcopilus with one indoor species, Collariella with four indoor species, Dichotomopilus with seven indoor species and Ovatospora with two indoor species. The generic concept of Botryotrichum is expanded to include Emilmuelleria and the chaetomium-like species B. muromum (= Ch. murorum) in which two indoor species are included. The generic concept of Subramaniula is expanded to include several chaetomium-like taxa as well as one indoor species. Humicola is recognised as a distinct genus including two indoor taxa. According to this study, Ch. globosum is the most abundant Chaetomiaceae indoor species (74/145), followed by Ch. cochliodes (17/145), Ch. elatum (6/145) and B. piluliferum (5/145). The morphological diversity of indoor Chaetomiaceae as well as the morphological characteristics of the new genera are described and illustrated. This taxonomic study redefines the generic concept of Chaetomium and provides new insight into the phylogenetic relationships among different genera within Chaetomiaceae

Discovery of Aspergillus frankstonensis sp. nov. during environmental sampling for animal and human fungal pathogens

Invasive fungal infections, IFI, due to species in Aspergillus section Fumigati, ASF, including the Aspergillus viridinutans species complex, AVSC, are increasingly reported in humans and cats. The risk of exposure to these medically important fungi in Australia is unknown. Air and soil was sampled from the domiciles of pet cats diagnosed with these IFI and from a nature reserve in Frankston, Victoria, where Aspergillus viridinutans sensu stricto was discovered in, . Of, ASF species isolated, were A. fumigatus sensu stricto, were AVSC, A. felis-clade and A. frankstonensis sp. nov., and, were other species, . Seven pathogenic ASF species known to cause disease in humans and animals, A. felis-clade, A. fischeri, A. thermomutatus, A. lentulus, A. laciniosus A. fumisynnematus, A. hiratsukae, comprised, of isolates overall. AVSC species were only isolated from Frankston soil where they were abundant, suggesting a particular ecological niche. Phylogenetic, morphological and metabolomic analyses of these isolates identified a new species, A. frankstonensis that is phylogenetically distinct from other AVSC species, heterothallic and produces a unique array of extrolites, including the UV spectrum characterized compounds DOLD, RAIMO and CALBO. Shared morphological and physiological characteristics with other AVSC species include slow sporulation, optimal growth at, ÊC, no growth at, ÊC, and viriditoxin production. Overall, the risk of environmental exposure to pathogenic species in ASF in Australia appears to be high, but there was no evidence of direct environmental exposure to AVSC species in areas where humans and cats cohabitate.Jessica J. Talbot, Jos Houbraken, Jens C. Frisvad, Robert A. Samson, Sarah E. Kidd, John Pitt, Sue Lindsay, Julia A. Beatty, Vanessa R. Barr

Ochratoxin production and taxonomy of the yellow aspergilli (Aspergillus section Circumdati)

AbstractAspergillus section Circumdati or the Aspergillus ochraceus group, includes species with rough walled stipes, biseriate conidial heads, yellow to ochre conidia and sclerotia that do not turn black. Several species are able to produce mycotoxins including ochratoxins, penicillic acids, and xanthomegnins. Some species also produce drug lead candidates such as the notoamides. A polyphasic approach was applied using morphological characters, extrolite data and partial calmodulin, β-tubulin and ITS sequences to examine the evolutionary relationships within this section. Based on this approach the section Circumdati is revised and 27 species are accepted, introducing seven new species: A. occultus, A. pallidofulvus, A. pulvericola, A. salwaensis, A. sesamicola, A. subramanianii and A. westlandensis. In addition we correctly apply the name A. fresenii (≡ A. sulphureus (nom. illeg.)). A guide for the identification of these 27 species is provided. These new species can be distinguished from others based on morphological characters, sequence data and extrolite profiles. The previously described A. onikii and A. petrakii were found to be conspecific with A. ochraceus, whilst A. flocculosus is tentatively synonymised with A. ochraceopetaliformis, despite extrolite differences between the two species. Based on the extrolite data, 13 species of section Circumdati produce large amounts of ochratoxin A: A. affinis, A. cretensis, A. fresenii, A. muricatus, A. occultus, A. ochraceopetaliformis (A. flocculosus), A. ochraceus, A. pseudoelegans, A. pulvericola, A. roseoglobulosus, A. sclerotiorum, A. steynii and A. westerdijkiae. Seven additional species produce ochratoxin A inconsistently and/or in trace amounts: A. melleus, A. ostianus, A. persii, A. salwaensis, A. sesamicola, A. subramanianii and A. westlandensis. The most important species regarding potential ochratoxin A contamination in agricultural products are A. ochraceus, A. steynii and A. westerdijkiae

Identification and nomenclature of the genus Penicillium

AbstractPenicillium is a diverse genus occurring worldwide and its species play important roles as decomposers of organic materials and cause destructive rots in the food industry where they produce a wide range of mycotoxins. Other species are considered enzyme factories or are common indoor air allergens. Although DNA sequences are essential for robust identification of Penicillium species, there is currently no comprehensive, verified reference database for the genus. To coincide with the move to one fungus one name in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants, the generic concept of Penicillium was re-defined to accommodate species from other genera, such as Chromocleista, Eladia, Eupenicillium, Torulomyces and Thysanophora, which together comprise a large monophyletic clade. As a result of this, and the many new species described in recent years, it was necessary to update the list of accepted species in Penicillium. The genus currently contains 354 accepted species, including new combinations for Aspergillus crystallinus, A. malodoratus and A. paradoxus, which belong to Penicillium section Paradoxa. To add to the taxonomic value of the list, we also provide information on each accepted species MycoBank number, living ex-type strains and provide GenBank accession numbers to ITS, β-tubulin, calmodulin and RPB2 sequences, thereby supplying a verified set of sequences for each species of the genus. In addition to the nomenclatural list, we recommend a standard working method for species descriptions and identifications to be adopted by laboratories working on this genus

Assessment of aflatoxigenicAspergillusand other fungi in millet and sesame from Plateau State, Nigeria

Sixteen fonio millet and 17 sesame samples were analysed for incidence of moulds, especially aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species, in order to determine the safety of both crops to consumers, and to correlate aflatoxin levels in the crops with levels produced by toxigenic isolates on laboratory medium. Diverse moulds including Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cercospora, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, Rhizopus and Trichoderma were isolated. Aspergillus was predominantly present in both crops (46–48%), and amongst the potentially aflatoxigenic Aspergillus species, A. flavus recorded the highest incidence (68% in fonio millet; 86% in sesame kernels). All A. parvisclerotigenus isolates produced B and G aflatoxins in culture while B aflatoxins were produced by only 39% and 20% of A. flavus strains isolated from the fonio millet and sesame kernels, respectively. Aflatoxin concentrations in fonio millet correlated inversely (r = −0.55; p = 0.02) with aflatoxin levels produced by toxigenic isolates on laboratory medium, but no correlation was observed in the case of the sesame samples. Both crops, especially sesame, may not be suitable substrates for aflatoxin biosynthesis. This is the first report on A. parvisclerotigenus in sesame

Aspergillus is monophyletic: Evidence from multiple gene phylogenies and extrolites profiles

Abstract Aspergillus is one of the economically most important fungal genera. Recently, the ICN adopted the single name nomenclature which has forced mycologists to choose one name for fungi (e.g. Aspergillus, Fusarium, Penicillium, etc.). Previously two proposals for the single name nomenclature in Aspergillus were presented: one attributes the name “Aspergillus” to clades comprising seven different teleomorphic names, by supporting the monophyly of this genus; the other proposes that Aspergillus is a non-monophyletic genus, by preserving the Aspergillus name only to species belonging to subgenus Circumdati and maintaining the sexual names in the other clades. The aim of our study was to test the monophyly of Aspergilli by two independent phylogenetic analyses using a multilocus phylogenetic approach. One test was run on the publicly available coding regions of six genes (RPB1, RPB2, Tsr1, Cct8, BenA, CaM), using 96 species of Penicillium, Aspergillus and related taxa. Bayesian (MrBayes) and Ultrafast Maximum Likelihood (IQ-Tree) and Rapid Maximum Likelihood (RaxML) analyses gave the same conclusion highly supporting the monophyly of Aspergillus. The other analyses were also performed by using publicly available data of the coding sequences of nine loci (18S rRNA, 5,8S rRNA, 28S rRNA (D1-D2), RPB1, RPB2, CaM, BenA, Tsr1, Cct8) of 204 different species. Both Bayesian (MrBayes) and Maximum Likelihood (RAxML) trees obtained by this second round of independent analyses strongly supported the monophyly of the genus Aspergillus. The stability test also confirmed the robustness of the results obtained. In conclusion, statistical analyses have rejected the hypothesis that the Aspergilli are non-monophyletic, and provided robust arguments that the genus is monophyletic and clearly separated from the monophyletic genus Penicillium. There is no phylogenetic evidence to split Aspergillus into several genera and the name Aspergillus can be used for all the species belonging to Aspergillus i.e. the clade comprising the subgenera Aspergillus, Circumdati, Fumigati, Nidulantes, section Cremei and certain species which were formerly part of the genera Phialosimplex and Polypaecilum. Section Cremei and the clade containing Polypaecilum and Phialosimplex are proposed as new subgenera of Aspergillus. The phylogenetic analysis also clearly shows that Aspergillus clavatoflavus and A. zonatus do not belong to the genus Aspergillus. Aspergillus clavatoflavus is therefore transferred to a new genus Aspergillago as Aspergillago clavatoflavus and A. zonatus was transferred to Penicilliopsis as P. zonata. The subgenera of Aspergillus share similar extrolite profiles indicating that the genus is one large genus from a chemotaxonomical point of view. Morphological and ecophysiological characteristics of the species also strongly indicate that Aspergillus is a polythetic class in phenotypic characters