Probiotics retrieved from animal sources have substantial health benefits for both humans and animals. The present study was designed to identify lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from domestic water buffalo milk (Bubalus bubalis) and to evaluate their potential as target-based probiotics. Forty-six LAB strains were isolated and, among them, five strains (NMCC-M2, NMCC-M4, NMCC-M5, NMCC-M6, and NMCC-M7) were regarded as possible probiotics on the basis of their phenotypic and biochemical properties. These isolates were molecularly identified as Weissella confusa (NMCC-M2), Leuconostoc pseudo-mesenteroides (NMCC-M4), Lactococcus lactis Subsp. hordniae (NMCC-M5), Enterococcus faecium NMCC-M6, and Enterococcus lactis NMCC-M7. The tested bacterial strains showed significant antimicrobial activity, susceptibility to antibiotics, acid and bile tolerance, sugar fermentation, enzymatic potential, and nonhemolytic characteristics. Interestingly, NMCC-M2 displayed the best probiotic features including survival at pH 3 and 0.5% (w/v) bile salts, complete susceptibility to the tested antibiotics, high enzymatic potential, and in vitro cholesterol reduction (48.0 µg/mL for NMCC-M2) with 0.3% bile salt supplementation. Therefore, the isolated strain NMCC-M2 could be considered as a potential target-based probiotic in cholesterol-lowering fermented food products.

Cytochrome P450s (P450ome) constitute an extended superfamily group of heme-thiolate enzymes identified in all biological domains. P450omes play a critical role in the oxidation of steroids and fatty acids, xenobiotic degradation of hydrophobic compounds, biosynthesis of hormones, and primary and secondary metabolism in organisms. Aspergillus species are among the most economically important fungal organisms in human medicine, industry, and agriculture worldwide. Exploring insight on the genome-wide annotations of cytochrome P450s in Aspergillus species is necessary for their biosynthetic applications. In this present study, we report the identification of 306 cytochrome P450s and their robust profiling in eight notable Aspergillus species (A. carbonarius, A. clavatus, A. flavus, A. fumigatus, A. nidulans, A. niger, A. oryzae, and A. terreus). Based on the evolutionary relationship, the Aspergillus P450s families clustered into 15 clades, with clades V, I, and XIII recording higher percentages (17.3%, 15.00%, and 14.71%, respectively) of Cyp families. Cyps were classified into 120 families 64 clans, and their putative functions were also elucidated. P450s were predicted to be located in 13 subcellular components, but the endoplasm reticulum was the dominant location across the eight Aspergillus species. Cyps genes of Aspergillus species were associated with seven secondary metabolism-related gene clusters. Elucidating the genome-wide annotations of P450s enzymes in Aspergillus species will form vital potential biotechnological tools that could be harnessed for industrial, pharmaceutical, and agricultural use.

In the food sector, ensuring the safety of packaged food products reaching the consumers or end-users have over the years been a major concern in the industry. Several outbreaks have been reported over the years caused by foodborne pathogens or the consumption of expired products. The use of nanobiomaterials for food packaging which can monitor the freshness, toxicants and microbial contamination rate has today given the food sector a major boost in addressing not only food toxicity but also increasing the shelf-life, quality and acceptability of packaged foods. Food industries in recent times have been heavily investing in the utilization of packaging materials that are biodegradable and biocompatible with sensors to replace the initial non-degradable packaging materials such as polyethene- and polyvinylchloride-containing plastics which already have been established as having toxic effects. Biological nanoparticle-based sensors are now being used to detect fish and/or meat deterioration after packaging, heavy metals in food, nutrient level, toxins, alcohol presence and microorganisms present in food. This technology is cheap, very sensitive and provides a user-friendly on-site or online assessment of the safety of the respective packaged foods.

Food safety has become a global concern due to its impact on the health of the human population, and so efficient methods of monitoring food safety have led to several conventional and non-conventional methods. Biosensors, which are a non-conventional method of monitoring food analysis, are required for several food industry applications due to their specificity, efficiency, accuracy, and reliability of results. Advancements in this nanotechnology have transformed the food industries with various applications in processing, packaging, enhancing the nutritional benefits, shelf-life and storage of foods among others. The use of innovations such as nanoparticle-based barcodes, nanoencapsulation, electronic noses and bioelectronic tongues among others are nanotechnology-based biosensors that have been developed to ensure proper monitoring and to address concerns about the safety of food produced in the various food industries. In this chapter, we discuss these technologies, their safety and health issues, trends and concerns.

In October 2015 and 2016, onion plants of Barke Aliero exhibiting characteristic symptoms of dried leaves beginning from the tip, abnormal protrusion, root discoloration and curling of the stalk from tip was observed in Kebbi State, Nigeria. In both cases, disease was very severe on seedlings, and disease incidence was 50% or more in most farmer’s fields. Diseased tissue was cut from advancing margin after sterilization and placed in agar plates. The Fusarium sp. isolated routinely from diseased tissue was identified at International Mycological Institute (IMI) Egham, London as Fusarium equiseti (Mart).Microscopic examinations showed the presence of septate (5-7) marcroconidia with tapered apical shape and aseptate microconidia. Pathogenicity test using Fusarium equiseti (IMI No. 604243) isolated from the roots and leaves of diseased plants showed typical symptoms. Three inoculation methods used confirmed multiple soil borne inoculum transmission after the Koch postulate.

Cytochrome P450s are a group of monooxygenase enzymes involved in primary, secondary and xenobiotic metabolisms. They have a wide application in the agriculture sector where they could serve as a target for herbicides or fungicides, while they could function in the pharmaceutical industry as drugs or drugs structures or for bioconversions. Alternaria species are among the most commonly encountered fungal genera, with most of them living as saprophytes in different habitats, while others are parasites of plants and animals. This study was conducted to elucidate the diversity and abundance, evolutionary relationships and cellular localization of 372 cytochrome P450 in 13 Alternaria species. The 372 CYP proteins were phylogenetically clustered into ten clades. Forty (40) clans and seventy-one (71) cyp families were identified, of which eleven (11) families were found to appear in one species each. The majority of the CYP proteins were located in the endomembrane system. Polyketide synthase (PKS) gene cluster was the predominant secondary metabolic-related gene cluster in all the Alternaria species studied, except in A. porriof, where non-ribosomal peptide synthetase genes were dominant. This study reveals the expansion of cyps in these fungal genera, evident in the family and clan expansions, which is usually associated with the evolution of fungal characteristics, especially their lifestyle either as parasites or saprophytes, with the ability to metabolize a wide spectrum of substrates. This study can be used to understand the biology, physiology and toxigenic potentials of P450 in these fungal genera.