Oligosaccharides from Coprophilous Fungi: An Emerging Functional Food with Potential Health-Promoting Properties: a Recent Appraisal

Functional foods are essential food products that possess health-promoting properties for the treatment of infectious diseases. In addition, they provide energy and nutrients, which are required for growth and survival. They occur as prebiotics or dietary supplements, including oligosaccharides, processed foods, and herbal products. However, oligosaccharides are more efficiently recognized and utilized, as they play a fundamental role as functional ingredients with great potential to improve health in comparison to other dietary supplements. They are low molecular weight carbohydrates with a low degree of polymerization. They occur as fructooligosaccharide (FOS), inulooligosaccharadie (IOS), and xylooligosaccahride (XOS), depending on their monosaccharide units. Oligosaccharides are produced by acid or chemical hydrolysis. However, this technique is liable to several drawbacks, including inulin precipitation, high processing temperature, low yields, high production costs, etc. As a consequence, the application of microbial enzymes for oligosaccharide production is recognized as a promising strategy. Microbial enzymatic production of FOS and IOS occurs by submerged or solid-state fermentation in the presence of suitable substrates (sucrose, inulin) and catalyzed by fructosyltransferases and inulinases. Incorporation of FOS and IOS enriches the rheological and physiological characteristics of foods. They are used as low cariogenic sugar substitutes, suitable for diabetics, and as prebiotics, probiotics & nutraceutical compounds. In addition, these oligosaccharides are employed as anticancer & antioxidant agents and aid in mineral absorption, lipid metabolism, immune regulation etc. This review, therefore, focuses on the occurrence, physico-chemical characteristics, and microbial enzymatic synthesis of FOS and IOS from coprophilous fungi. In addition, the potential health benefits of these oligosaccharides were discussed in detail.

Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) dung and their associated fungi: Potential candidates for bio-remediation and nutrients improvement of crude oil contaminated soils

Enyiukwu DN, Bassey IN, Nwaogu GA, Asamudo NU, Chukwu LA, Monday EA, Maranzu JO. 2021. Pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) dung and their associated fungi: Potential candidates for bio-remediation and nutrients improvement of crude oil contaminated soils. Biodiversitas 22: 3276-3286. Pig dung a common agro-waste material in Nigeria is associated with many fungal saprophytes. Rising oil spillages and pollution in Nigeria have made cultivation of affected agro-lands un-rewarding. Potentials of pig dung in mitigating crude oil pollution in agro-soils are herein studied. The objectives of this study were to characterize the fungal profile associated with wet and dry dung of pig. And to evaluate the remediating impacts of pig dung and their associated fungi on crude oil and heavy metals contents, physicochemical properties, and phytotoxicity of crude oil polluted soils. Coprophilous fungi were isolated from wet and dry dung by moist chamber technique and identified. Utisoil from Umudike was polluted with crude oil, amended with 10-40% of dry pig dung and sown with soybean (Glycine max L.). The amended and un-amended crude oil contaminated utisols were analyzed to reduce crude oil and heavy metals contents; and physicochemical properties at planting, and harvesting, respectively, using classical and spectrometric methods, and the extent of crude oil and heavy metals removal determined. The percentage germination, height, number of leaves, leaf color, vigor, and biomass of the test crop were recorded from the test plant. The results showed that Aspergillus candidus, Sclerotium sp., Absidia sp., Acremonium sp., Candida tropicalis, C. pseudotropicalis, and Rhizopus oryzae were consistently isolated from the dry dung specimen than the wet one. The results also indicated that the treatments significantly reduced the treated soils' crude oil and heavy metals contents. It revealed that values obtained for residual oil or heavy metals contents of the treated soils and crop performance were inversely and directly related to levels of soil amendment respectively. Crop performance in the amended soil remained statistically (P?0.05) higher compared to the control. Soil analyses showed that the dung treatments significantly increased the values of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, organic carbon, etc. in a directly proportional manner. Therefore, pig dung and their associated fungi hold strong potentials as cheap eco-friendly platforms to provide and stimulate microbial growth, hasten degradation and removal of crude oil and heavy metals from contaminated soils; and thus permit and sustain good performance of arable crops.

The link between climate change and biodiversity of lacustrine inhabitants and terrestrial plant communities of the Uvs Nuur Basin (Mongolia) during the last three millennia

The paper is focused on changes in biodiversity, the environment, and human activity in the Uvs Nuur Basin during the last three millennia based on biological and geochemical proxies from the lake Bayan Nuur. Regions with high biodiversity and relatively low anthropogenic pressures are typically the most vulnerable to both climate change and human activities. One such area is the Uvs Nuur Basin located on the north of the Great Lake Depression of Mongolia. The main objective of this study is to assess changes in the past biodiversity of the lake’s microflora and microfauna, and surrounding vegetation biodiversity in the Uvs Nuur Basin, and to determine the main drivers of diversity change. Based on the analysis of pollen and chironomids we conclude that the most humid and afforested phase was between 1400 and 1800 CE. We assume that the Little Ice Age in the Uvs Nuur Basin was humid with mean annual precipitation ca. 305 mm/year and mean July temperature about 13°C. Conversely, the warmest and most arid period was between 650 and 1350 CE with mean annual precipitation ca. 280 mm/year and mean July temperature of about 16°C, attributed to the Medieval Warm Period. The biodiversity of terrestrial plants, chironomids, and Cladocera positive react to changes in annual precipitation and July temperature, whereas diatoms do not correlate directly to the climatic factors. The diversity and the evenness of plants are strongly correlated with the change in the leading biomes. The calculated species turnover suggests no significant changes in plant and Cladocera taxa composition, but significant changes in diatom and chironomid communities. This may be explained by the instability of lake ecology due to the fluctuation of the salinity and acidity of the water. An additional aim was to assess if dung fungi in lacustrine sediments reflect changes in human population density around the lake. We found that neither historical sources of human presence nor the influx of coprophilous fungi are correlated with the inferred climate changes. Coprophilous fungi can be used as individual or additional sources of assessment for the peopling and human-related herbivore density including overgrazing of the studied area.

Historical Fires Induced Deforestation in Relict Scots Pine Forests during the Late 19th Century

Mountain forests are subjected to several pressures including historical land-use changes and climate warming which may lead to shifts in wildfire severity negatively impacting tree species with low post-fire growth resilience. This is the case of relict Mediterranean Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forests in the Sierra de Gredos mountains (central Spain). We reconstructed the historical fire regime of these forests since 1700 by using paleoecology, historical ecology and dendroecology. We detected an increase in charcoal accumulation rate and coprophilous fungi in peat bogs during the late 19th century when the pine pollen percentage sharply decreased, historical records of fire peaked and many trees showed growth suppressions. We inferred an increased wildfire incidence during the late 19th century, which could have shaped the current distribution of Scots pine forests. This shift in fire-forest interactions can be explained by the uncontrolled use of mountain forests and grasslands due to the dissolution of “Mesta”, one of the major and lasting transhumance livestock associations in Europe. Integrating historical human and climate influences on fire regimes allows decomposing the resilience and conservation components of relict forests.

The Role of Palynology in Archaeoecological Research: Reconstructing Human-Environment Interactions during Neolithic in the Western Mediterranean

This paper provides an overview of the potential of palynology within palaeoenvironmental research to reconstruct past landscapes and assess the relationship between vegetation and the first farming communities. The analysis of pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs in natural records evidenced how the adoption of farming and new sedentary settlement patterns resulted in major landscape transformation on extra-local or regional scales in the Western Mediterranean, affecting sclerophyllous and riparian forests in North Corsica, Mediterranean maquis in South Corsica, and oak forests in NE Iberia. In addition, palynology has been confirmed as a relevant source of data to address the local palaeoenvironmental evolution in lakes, wetlands, and archaeological sites, providing evidence of the presence of flocks (spores of coprophilous fungi), and changes in hydrology (salinity, dryness/wetness, aquatic/palustrine phases) and in geomorphology (soil erosion indicators). Finally, the spatial analysis of pollen and NPP intra-site distribution is presented here as a valuable tool to assess the social use of space in archaeological sites. In that sense, archaeopalynology has provided detailed information about site formation processes, social use of space, and the use of plants and fungi in the site of La Draga (Girona, Spain).

Continuous presence of proto-cereals in Anatolia since 2.3 Ma, and their possible co-evolution with large herbivores and hominins

Cereals are a central resource for the human diet and are traditionally assumed to have evolved from wild grasses at the onset of the Neolithic under the pressure of agriculture. Here we demonstrate that cereals may have a significantly longer and more diverse lineage, based on the study of a 0–2.3 Ma, 601 m long sedimentary core from Lake Acıgöl (South-West Anatolia). Pollen characteristic of cereals is abundant throughout the sedimentary sequence. The presence of large lakes within this arid bioclimatic zone led to the concentration of large herbivore herds, as indicated by the continuous occurrence of coprophilous fungi spores in the record. Our hypothesis is that the effects of overgrazing on soils and herbaceous stratum, during this long period, led to genetic modifications of the Poaceae taxa and to the appearance of proto-cereals. The simultaneous presence of hominins is attested as early as about 1.4 Ma in the lake vicinity, and 1.8 Ma in Georgia and Levant. These ancient hominins probably benefited from the availability of these proto-cereals, rich in nutrients, as well as various other edible plants, opening the way, in this region of the Middle East, to a process of domestication, which reached its full development during the Neolithic.

Dung analysis of the East Milford mastodons: dietary and environmental reconstructions from central Nova Scotia at ~75 ka yr BP.

To reconstruct a mastodon diet and provide a ‘snapshot’ view of environmental conditions in eastern Canada prior to the onset of the Wisconsinan glaciation, we analysed the faunal and floral components of dung associated with juvenile mastodon remains from East Milford, Nova Scotia, dated to 74.9 ± 5.0 ka cal BP. The diverse assemblage of pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils and macroinvertebrate remains in the dung suggests that the mastodons lived in a spruce-dominated mixed coniferous-deciduous forest with a strong boreal aspect interspersed with wetlands rich in charophytes, sedges, cattails, bulrushes and bryophytes. The abundance of spruce needles and birch samaras in the dung sample is consistent with an inferred browsing behaviour, having been reported for other mammutid species previously. The limited diversity and near-absence of coprophilous fungi, such as <i>Sporormiella</i>, in the dung could have an impact on understanding the influence of feeding strategies on the presence of coprophilous taxa in sedimentary records, and thus interpretations of megafaunal abundance. The dung also yielded the earliest known Canadian remains of the bark beetle <i>Polygraphus </i>cf. <i>rufipennis</i>, gemmulae of the freshwater sponge <i>Eunapius </i>cf. <i>fragilis </i>and loricae of the rotifer <i>Keratella cochlearis</i>.

Disentangling human-fire-climate linkages at mid-elevations in the Šumava Mountains of central Europe

&lt;p&gt;To distinguish human-caused from naturally-caused fire regimes, palaeoecological records must demonstrate that observed changes in vegetation and fire are in response to changes in human activity rather than driven by natural climate-fire relationships. Here, we use a high-resolution multi-proxy approach (testate amoebae derived depth to water table (DWT), macro- and micro-charcoal, charcoal morphologies, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs, plant macrofossils, and XRF) from P&amp;#233;kna, a mid-elevation peat bog situated near Lipno Reservoir - an area rich in human land use - to investigate human-driven vs. naturally-driven fire regimes in the &amp;#352;umava Mountains. Our results span the entire Holocene and illustrate that humans have been consistently modifying the landscape since 5,500 cal yr BP. Specifically, during the mid-Holocene (7,000 &amp;#8211; 4,000 cal yr BP) when water table was at its highest at P&amp;#233;kna, relatively frequent, low-severity fires occurred and was accompanied by the prolonged presence of coprophilous fungi, secondary human indicators and an opening of the forest, suggesting human activities. Human land use intensified ~1,500 cal yr BP as indicated by increases in primary human indicator species, an increase in early successional tree species (Pinus and Betula) indicating an opening of the forest canopy, and the development of regional mining is suggested by a marked increase in the concentration of lead (Pb). While water table depths decreased indicating drier conditions ~1,500 cal yr BP, local fires persisted, burning at low severities as indicated by the continued presence of charred herb macrofossils. The most intensive land use occurred in the last 500 years with the highest abundance of primary and secondary human indicator species, and coprophilious fungi. Locally, marked increases in the concentration of both redox-sensitive elements such as iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sulphur (S), and chlorine (Cl), and detrital elements such as potassium (K), aluminum (Al) and Titanium (Ti) indicate major changes in the depositional environment over the last 500 years, possibly due to peat draining. However, this time period witnessed decreased biomass burning as a result of a more open landscape and less fuels to burn. These results contribute to a growing body of literature illustrating the importance of prehistoric impact in the mid-mountains of Central Europe.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;

Molecular identification of coprophilous microfungi from Banyumas District, Central Java, Indonesia

Mumpuni A, Amurwanto A, Wahyono DJ. 2021. Molecular identification of coprophilous microfungi from Banyumas District, Central Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 22: 1550-1557. Coprophilous microfungi are a group of fungi that are ecologically interesting in relation to herbivores. These fungi play a predominant role in the decomposition of organic matter, in which the organic matter passes through a series of events involving mechanical degradation, as well as physical and biological processes. The role of coprophilous fungi as the main decomposers of the lignocellulosic material of herbivorous animal waste, which is widespread in nature, is very important. Previous research on the inventory and identification of coprophilous fungi in the Banyumas district has been limited to macroscopic genera, so the results have not been able to provide a comprehensive picture of the presence of coprophilous fungi in the region. Identification of the types of microscopic coprophilous fungi that live in herbivorous animal waste, such as lignocellulosic material, is necessary to understand the taxonomy of these fungi. This study aimed to investigate and identify microscopic coprophilous fungi obtained in the Banyumas district of Central Java, Indonesia. Based on the purposive random sampling method, the obtained fungi were analyzed using the molecular methods of DNA isolation, gene amplification, DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of fungal cultures. The following species and genera were identified: Ceriporia lacerata, Trichosporon insectorum, Lentinus squarrosulus, Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Trichosporon sp.