A. S Jasim - Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basra, Basrah, Iraq
B. A Abass - Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basra, Basrah, Iraq
I. M Al-Rubayae - Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Basra, Basrah, Iraq

Coprophilous fungi are a large group of fungi mostly found in herbivore dung and have an exclusive life cycle. This group of fungi produces many important metabolites which can be consumed in medicine or agriculture. The present study aimed to investigate the antibacterial effects of these fungi on bacterial mastitis. A total of ۵۰ dung samples were collected from four herbivores (cows, buffalos, sheep, and camels) from different areas of Basra. The moist chamber method was used for each sample to establish a fungal fruiting body and detect the type of the fungi. The coprophilous fungi included Aspergillus sp. (A. niger, A. fumigatus, A. flavus, A. terrus), Chaetomium sp., Sordaria sp., and Podospora sp. which belong to the Ascomycetes class. PCR test was performed using the ITS region for confirmatory detection of species. The highest and the lowest number of isolated species was associated with cow dung and camel dung, respectively. The antimicrobial property of three different partitioned extracts (petroleum ether [F۱], ethanol [F۲], and water [F۳]) prepared from some fungal mycelia was evaluated in vitro. All fractions were tested to detect antimicrobial activity using the disc diffusion assay against five pathogenic bacteria Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus Enterobacter, Proteus mirabilis, and E. coli. which is isolated from bovine mastitis. Data revealed that all fractions could inhibit the tested bacteria. However, inhibitory activity was found to be dependent on (۶i) the used fungal strains; (ii) the extracted solvent; and (iii) the tested bacteria. In general, the petroleum ether extracts (F۱) derived from all fungi displayed the highest inhibitory activity against the testing bacteria. In conclusion, the present study concluded that the extracts prepared from the fungal mycelia contain bioactive compounds with antibacterial properties. This study was first conducted in Iraq and further studies are required to develop new treatments.

Antibiotic activity test, Coprophilous fungi, Herbivore dung, Iraq