The Fungus Among Us: Innovations and Applications of Mycelium-Based Composites.

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) are an emerging category of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable materials that are attracting significant research and commercial interest across various industries, including construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and biomedicine. These materials harness the natural growth of fungi as a low-energy bio-fabrication method, converting abundant agricultural by-products and waste into sustainable alternatives to energy-intensive synthetic construction materials. Their affordability and eco-friendly characteristics make them attractive for both research and commercialisation.

Correction: Rame Hau et al. The Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with the Presence of Antibiotic Residues in Milk from Peri-Urban Dairy Cattle Farms in Kathmandu, Nepal. 2025, , 98.

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The Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with the Presence of Antibiotic Residues in Milk from Peri-Urban Dairy Cattle Farms in Kathmandu, Nepal.

The presence of antibiotic residues (ARs) in animal products such as milk can be an important driver of antimicrobial resistance in commensal and pathogenic bacteria. Previous studies on ARs in Nepal have demonstrated the presence of ARs in milk samples but without further characterization of the samples for risk factor analysis. This study aimed to quantify the prevalence and risk factors for the presence of ARs in 140 peri-urban dairy farms in Kathmandu, Nepal, included in a cross-sectional survey in 2019 to estimate farm-level AR prevalence.

Molecular Epidemiological Characteristics of , and Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Cultured from Clinical Canine Skin and Ear Samples in Queensland.

Infections in dogs caused by methicillin-resistant staphylococci (MRS) present limited treatment options. This study's objective was to investigate the molecular epidemiology of spp. cultured exclusively from clinical canine skin and ear samples in Queensland, Australia, using whole-genome sequencing (WGS).

Characterization and comparison of fecal microbiota in horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction and age-matched controls.

Background: Altered gut microbiota has been associated with dopaminergic degenerative diseases in people, but studies on horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) are lacking.

Hypothesis/objectives: Investigate the effect of PPID on fecal microbiota in horses.

Animals: Nine horses with PPID and 13 age-matched control horses.

Microbial safety of black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) reared on food waste streams.

Black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) can valorise different organic matter and yield a product of high nutritional value. The lack of knowledge about the microbial safety of BSFL grown on different organic waste streams influences the commercialisation of BSFL as stockfeed ingredient. This study evaluates the microbial safety of BSFL grown on five different commercial food waste streams collected from two commercial production facilities.

Differential effects of pectin-based dietary fibre type and gut microbiota composition on in vitro fermentation outcomes.

Interactions between human gut microbiota and dietary fibres (DF) are influenced by the complexity and diversity of both individual microbiota and sources of DF. Based on 480 in vitro fermentations, a full factorial experiment was performed with six faecal inocula representing two enterotypes and three DF sources with nanometer, micrometer, and millimeter length-scales (apple pectin, apple cell walls and apple particles) at two concentrations. Increasing DF size reduced substrate disappearance and fermentation rates but not biomass growth.

Faecal bacterial communities differ amongst discrete foraging populations of dugongs along the east Australian coast.

Gut bacterial communities play a vital role in a host's digestion and fermentation of complex carbohydrates, absorption of nutrients, and energy harvest/storage. Dugongs are obligate seagrass grazers with an expanded hindgut and associated microbiome. Here, we characterised and compared the faecal bacterial communities of dugongs from genetically distinct populations along the east coast of Australia, between subtropical Moreton Bay and tropical Cleveland Bay.

Biomass attachment and microbiota shifts during porcine faecal fermentation of almond and macadamia nuts differing in particle sizes.

Nuts are highly nutritious and good sources of dietary fibre, when consumed as part of a healthy human diet. Upon consumption, nut particles of various sizes containing lipids entrapped by the plant cell walls enter the large intestine where they are fermented by the resident microbiota. This study investigated the microbial community shifts during fermentation of almond and macadamia substrates, of two particle sizes including fine particles (F = 250-500 μm) and cell clusters (CC = 710-1000 μm).

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) for monitoring the nutritional composition of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) and frass.

Background: The demand for protein obtained from animal sources is growing rapidly, as is the necessity for sustainable animal feeds. The use of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) reared on organic side streams as sustainable animal feed has been receiving attention lately. This study assessed the ability of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) combined with chemometrics to evaluate the nutritional profile of BSFL instars (fifth and sixth) and frass obtained from two different diets, namely soy waste and customised bread-vegetable diet.

Near Infrared Spectroscopy for Prediction of Yeast and Mould Counts in Black Soldier Fly Larvae, Feed and Frass: A Proof of Concept.

The use of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) grown on different organic waste streams as a source of feed ingredient is becoming very popular in several regions across the globe. However, information about the easy-to-use methods to monitor the safety of BSFL is a major step limiting the commercialization of this source of protein. This study investigated the ability of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics to predict yeast and mould counts (YMC) in the feed, larvae, and the residual frass.

Nasal microbiota profiles in shelter dogs with dermatological conditions carrying methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus species.

Dermatological conditions may be complicated by Staphylococcus spp. infections influencing skin and nasal microbiota. We investigated the associations between the resident nasal microbiota of shelter dogs with and without dermatological conditions carrying methicillin-resistant and -sensitive Staphylococcus spp.

Novel constituents of L. (chia) nutlet mucilage and the improved fermentation of nutlets when ground.

Upon wetting, chia ( L.) nutlets produce a gel-like capsule of polysaccharides called mucilage that comprises a significant part of their dietary fibre content. Seed/nutlet mucilage is often used as a texture modifying hydrocolloid and bulking dietary fibre due to its water-binding ability, though the utility of mucilage from different sources is highly structure-function dependent.

fermentation profiles of undigested fractions from legume and nut particles are affected by particle cohesion and entrapped macronutrients.

Insoluble undigested food residues are the predominant dietary form of 'fibre' from food plants, with the potential for fermentation by microbial species resident within the large intestine. Here we present results on fermentation of undigested fractions of legumes (chickpea flour, lentil flour, mung bean flour), and nuts (peanut, almond, macadamia) using a pooled faecal inoculum from pigs fed a nut- and legume-free diet. All substrates were pre-digested .

Interaction of cellulose and xyloglucan influences in vitro fermentation outcomes.

To investigate the effects of interactions between cellulose and xyloglucan (XG) on in vitro fermentation, a composite of bacterial cellulose (BC) incorporating XG during pellicle formation (BCXG), was fermented using a human faecal inoculum, and compared with BC, XG and a mixture (BC&XG) physically blended to have the same BC to XG ratio of BCXG. Compared to individual polysaccharides, the fermentation extent of BC and fermentation rate of XG were promoted in BC&XG. XG embedded in the BCXG composite was degraded less than in BC&XG, while more cellulose in BCXG was fermented than in BC&XG.

Wheat cell walls and constituent polysaccharides induce similar microbiota profiles upon fermentation despite different short chain fatty acid end-product levels.

Plant cell walls as well as their component polysaccharides in foods can be utilized to alter and maintain a beneficial human gut microbiota, but it is not known whether the architecture of the cell wall influences the gut microbiota population. In this study, wheat flour cell walls (WCW) were isolated and compared with their major constituents - arabinoxylan (AX), mixed linkage (1,3)(1,4)-β-glucan (MLG) and cellulose - both separately and as a physical mixture of polysaccharides (Mix) equivalent in composition to WCW. These samples underwent in vitro fermentation with a faecal inoculum from pigs fed a diet free of cereals and soluble-fibre to avoid prior adaptation to substrates.

Multienzyme Super-Dosing in Broiler Chicken Diets: The Implications for Gut Morphology, Microbial Profile, Nutrient Digestibility, and Bone Mineralization.

Optimizing gut health has a large impact on nutrient digestibility and bioavailability, and super-dosing feed enzymes may be one solution to achieve this. A 42-day grow-out trial was conducted using 192 Ross 308 broilers to determine if super-dosing Natuzyme at 0 g/t, 350 g/t, 700 g/t, and 1000 g/t dose rates could improve the gut morphology, alter the cecal microbial profile, enhance bone mineralization, and improve nutrient digestibility of a wheat-corn-soybean diet (six replicates per treatment, eight birds per pen). One bird per pen was slaughtered at day 42 and gut morphology, cecal microbial profile, and nutrient digestibility were studied.

Metabolism of Black Carrot Polyphenols during In Vitro Fermentation is Not Affected by Cellulose or Cell Wall Association.

Fruit and vegetable polyphenols are associated with health benefits, and those not absorbed could be fermented by the gastro-intestinal tract microbiota. Many fermentation studies focus on "pure" polyphenols, rather than those associated with plant cell walls (PCW). Black carrots (BlkC), are an ideal model plant food as their polyphenols bind to PCW with minimal release after gastro-intestinal digestion.

Wood hemicelluloses exert distinct biomechanical contributions to cellulose fibrillar networks.

Hemicelluloses, a family of heterogeneous polysaccharides with complex molecular structures, constitute a fundamental component of lignocellulosic biomass. However, the contribution of each hemicellulose type to the mechanical properties of secondary plant cell walls remains elusive. Here we homogeneously incorporate different combinations of extracted and purified hemicelluloses (xylans and glucomannans) from softwood and hardwood species into self-assembled networks during cellulose biosynthesis in a bacterial model, without altering the morphology and the crystallinity of the cellulose bundles.

fermentation outcomes of arabinoxylan and galactoxyloglucan depend on fecal inoculum more than substrate chemistry.

Using in vitro fermentation conditions, this study investigated the fermentation characteristics of arabinoxylan (AX) and xyloglucan (XG) with a fecal inoculum that was collected either from humans consuming unrestricted diets or pigs fed a semi-defined diet with cellulose being the sole non-starch polysaccharide for 10 days prior to fecal collection. Metagenomic analysis revealed that microbial communities in the two types of inoculum were distinctively different, which led to distinct fermentation characteristics with the polysaccharides. The microbial communities fermented with the porcine fecal inoculum were clustered according to the fermentation time, while those fermented with the human fecal inoculum were differentiated by the substrates.

Formation of Cellulose-Based Composites with Hemicelluloses and Pectins Using Komagataeibacter Fermentation.

Komagataeibacter xylinus synthesizes cellulose in an analogous fashion to plants. Through fermentation of K. xylinus in media containing cell wall polysaccharides from the hemicellulose and/or pectin families, composites with cellulose can be produced.

High amylose wheat starch structures display unique fermentability characteristics, microbial community shifts and enzyme degradation profiles.

A slower rate of starch digestion in the small intestine increases the amount of resistant starch (RS) entering the large intestine, which is associated with health benefits. Although increasing the amylose (AM) content of dietary starch intake is one way to increase RS, the processes involved in gut microbial hydrolysis and fermentation of high AM-RS substrates are poorly understood. In this study, five high AM wheat (HAW) starches ranging from 47% AM to 93% AM and a wild type (37% AM), in both native granular and cooked forms, were subjected to in vitro fermentation with a porcine faecal inoculum.

Purified plant cell walls with adsorbed polyphenols alter porcine faecal bacterial communities during in vitro fermentation.

A substantial fraction of ingested polyphenols accumulate in the large intestine (LI), attached to undigested plant cell walls (PCW) (dietary fibre). Yet, whether these PCW-bound polyphenols alter the structure and function of the resident microbiota remains unclear. This study characterised bacterial populations during the in vitro fermentation of three standard polyphenols: ferulic acid (FER), (±)-catechin (CAT), and cyanidin-3-glucoside (CYAN), adsorbed individually or in combination to apple cell walls (ACW).

High Molecular Weight Mixed-Linkage Glucan as a Mechanical and Hydration Modulator of Bacterial Cellulose: Characterization by Advanced NMR Spectroscopy.

Bacterial cellulose (BC) consists of a complex three-dimensional organization of ultrafine fibers which provide unique material properties such as softness, biocompatibility, and water-retention ability, of key importance for biomedical applications. However, there is a poor understanding of the molecular features modulating the macroscopic properties of BC gels. We have examined chemically pure BC hydrogels and composites with arabinoxylan (BC-AX), xyloglucan (BC-XG), and high molecular weight mixed-linkage glucan (BC-MLG).

"Dietary fibre": moving beyond the "soluble/insoluble" classification for monogastric nutrition, with an emphasis on humans and pigs.

This review describes dietary fibres originating from a range of foods, particularly in relation to their plant cell walls. It explores the categorization of dietary fibres into "soluble" or "insoluble". It also emphasizes dietary fibre fermentability, in terms of describing how the gastro-intestinal tract (GIT) microbiota respond to a selection of fibres from these categories.