title: Effects of feeding Fusarium fujikuroi culture material containing known levels of moniliformin in turkey poults.
abstract: An experiment was conducted with 180 female turkey poults to evaluate the effects of Fusarium fujikuroi M-1214 culture material, containing moniliformin (M), on turkey poults. Day-old female poults were allotted randomly to dietary treatments containing 0, 0.24, 0.48, 0.72, 0.96, 1.44, 1.92, 2.40 and 2.88% M culture material (MCM). These levels of MCM supplied 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 mg M/kg of feed. Significant mortality occurred in poults fed 200 (six out of 20), 250 (nine out of 20) and 300 (nine out of 20) mg M/kg feed. Poults fed 100 mg M/kg or greater had lower (P<0.05) feed intakes than controls. Decreased body weight gains were observed in poults fed diets containing 100 mg M/kg or higher. In contrast, feed conversion was only affected (P<0.05) at dietary levels of 200 mg M/kg feed or higher. Increased heart weights (P<0.05) were observed in poults fed greater than or equal to 50 mg M/kg. Gross lesions of M toxicity were a generalized cardiomegaly. Histopathology revealed focally extensive to generalized loss of car-diomyocyte cross striations (granular change) and numerous large cardiomyocyte nuclei in poults fed greater than or equal to 50 and 100 mg M/kg, respectively. Results indicated that Fusarium fujikuroi culture material containing moniliformin at greater than or equal to 50 mg M/kg is toxic to turkey poults.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bermudez
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Ledoux
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Rottinghaus
authors.forename: P L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Stogsdill
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Bennett