Identification of fungal species based on morphological characteristics is tedious, complex, prone to errors, and thus cannot be completely relied upon. In this study, internal transcribed spacers (ITS 1 and 4)—polymerase chain reaction was employed to amplify DNA of 19 mushroom isolates collected at Environmental Pollution Science and Technology farm, Ilesa, Southwest Nigeria. The PCR amplification of ITS1 and 4 of the mushrooms isolates yielded approximately 850 bp. Amplicons obtained were sequenced and identified using BLASTn in the NCBI. The BLASTn results revealed that Termitomyces aurantiacus (3), Tricholoma matsutake (8), Tricholoma robustum (2), P. ostreatus (4), Schizophyllum commune (1) and Pleurotus pulmonarius (1) were fully represented. Only Tricholoma matsutake (KT273371), Pleurotus pulmonarius (KY962469) and Tricholoma matsutake (AF438605) had 100% similarity with reference strain. However, the phylogenetic analysis of the isolates showed low genetic relatedness with reference strains. This study revealed the novelty of the mushroom strains and thus advocating the need for strict conservation measures and further investigations on their potential benefits to mankind.

Rivers are important freshwater resources for domestic and industrial activities, and the availability of good-quality freshwater is indispensable for preventing water-borne diseases and improving quality of life, especially in communities that lack a water supply system. The physicochemical parameters and coliform distribution of some selected rivers in Osun State, soutwestern Nigeria were evaluated using standard analytical procedures. The physicochemical qualities ranged as follows: pH (6.9-7.6), temperature (26-29ºC), turbidity (2.28 = 9.46 NTU), electrical conductivity (229-581 μS/cm), nitrate (0.03-0.05 mg/L), nitrite (0.00-0.01 mg/L), sulphate (3.33-20.33 mg/L), chloride ions (7.83-27.33 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (4.23-5.57 mg/L), total dissolved solids (56-184 mg/L), total hardness (78-519 mg/L) and alkalinity (50.67-146.67 mg/L). Total coliforms were detected in counts ranging from 59 to 176 CFU/100 ml of water sample. One-way ANOVA showed that pH, temperature, electrical conductivities, nitrates, nitrites, chloride, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solid, total hardness and alkalinity were significantly different (P0.05) from each parameter with respect to sampling sites. Generally, results from this study suggest that the river waters are not suitable for consumption, domestic or recreational use, and confirm the importance of protecting the freshwater resources of southwestern Nigeria.