Effects of feeding Fusarium fujikuroi culture material containing known levels of moniliformin in turkey poults.

An experiment was conducted with 180 female turkey poults to evaluate the effects of Fusarium fujikuroi M-1214 culture material, containing moniliformin (M), on turkey poults. Day-old female poults were allotted randomly to dietary treatments containing 0, 0.24, 0.48, 0.72, 0.96, 1.44, 1.92, 2.40 and 2.88% M culture material (MCM). These levels of MCM supplied 0, 25, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250 or 300 mg M/kg of feed. Significant mortality occurred in poults fed 200 (six out of 20), 250 (nine out of 20) and 300 (nine out of 20) mg M/kg feed. Poults fed 100 mg M/kg or greater had lower (P<0.05) feed intakes than controls. Decreased body weight gains were observed in poults fed diets containing 100 mg M/kg or higher. In contrast, feed conversion was only affected (P<0.05) at dietary levels of 200 mg M/kg feed or higher. Increased heart weights (P<0.05) were observed in poults fed greater than or equal to 50 mg M/kg. Gross lesions of M toxicity were a generalized cardiomegaly. Histopathology revealed focally extensive to generalized loss of car-diomyocyte cross striations (granular change) and numerous large cardiomyocyte nuclei in poults fed greater than or equal to 50 and 100 mg M/kg, respectively. Results indicated that Fusarium fujikuroi culture material containing moniliformin at greater than or equal to 50 mg M/kg is toxic to turkey poults.