Two experiments were conducted to screen microorganisms with aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 ) removal potential from soils and to evaluate their ability in reducing the toxic effects of AFB1 in ducklings. In experiment 1, we screened 11 isolates that showed the AFB1 biodegradation ability, and the one exhibited the highest AFB1 removal ability (97%) was characterized and identified as Cellulosimicrobium funkei (C. funkei). In experiment 2, 80 day-old Cherry Valley ducklings were divided into four groups with four replicates of five birds each and were used in a 2 by 2 factorial trial design, in which the main factors included administration of AFB1 versus solvent and C. funkei versus solvent for 2 weeks. The AFB1 treatment significantly decreased the body weight gain, feed intake and impaired feed conversion ratio. AFB1 also decreased serum albumin and total protein concentration, while it increased activities of alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase and liver damage in the ducklings. Supplementation of C. funkei alleviated the adverse effects of AFB1 on growth performance, and provided protective effects on the serum biochemical indicators, and decreased hepatic injury in the ducklings. Conclusively, our results suggest that the novel isolated C. funkei strain could be used to mitigate the negative effects of aflatoxicosis in ducklings.
© 2015 The Authors. Microbial Biotechnology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Applied Microbiology.