Isolation and Identification of Deleterious Fungi Associated with
Stored Grains and Cattle
Feedstuff of Potohar Region of Pakistan
Muhammad Akram Khan1*, Imtiaz Ahmad Khan1,
Adnan Hassan Tahir2, Muhammad Akbar Shahid3,
Nadia Nazish4, Muhammad Arif Zafar2, Sheraz
Ahmed Bhatti3, Riaz Hussain Pasha5, Yassar
Abbas6, Sara Sadiq7 and Bushra Jamil7
1Department
of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science,
PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; 2Department
of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science,
PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; 3Department
of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya
University, Multan, Pakistan; 4Department
of Zoology, University of Sialkot, Sialkot, Pakistan; 5Department
of Veterinary Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal
Science, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan; 6Department
of Animal Sciences, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences,
Jhang Campus, Jhang, Pakistan;
7BJ
Micro Lab, Gulzar e Quaid, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
The growth of fungus in grains and feed is favored by improper humidity and
temperature during storage contributing to loss of grain quality, infections
among animals and humans and production of mycotoxins. Therefore, the current
study was aimed to isolate and identify fungal species among stored grains and
feedstuff of Potohar region of Pakistan. For fungal screening, ten different
samples were collected from storage houses situated in different cities. These
samples included wheat and corn grains from Taxila, Gujar Khan and Chakwal
cities, while cattle feed samples were collected from Attock city. The
investigation confirmed the presence of
Rhizopus arrhizus in wheat from two different localities in Taxila and
cattle feed, respectively, Aspergillus
foetidus and Achaetomium globosum
in wheat from Gujar Khan and Taxila,and
Mucor indicus in maize from Chakwal.
The most predominant fungal species was
Rhizopus arrhizus. Here we are reporting the prevalence of pathogenic and
toxigenic fungal species in stored grains and cattle feed of Potohar region for
the first time. Inadequate storage conditions can lead to uncontrolled
multiplication of fungus, so this study will assist in optimizing the storage
conditions to curb its growth for assurance of healthy food for humans and
animals.
To Cite This Article:
Khan MA, Khan IA, Tahir AH, Shahid MA, Nazish N,Zafar MA, Bhatti SA,
Pasha RH, Abbas Y, Sadiq S and Jamil B, 2024.
Isolation and identification of
deleterious fungi associated with stored grains and cattle feedstuff of Potohar
region of Pakistan. Pak Vet J.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2024.189