Aspergillus flavus is known for producing aflatoxins (AFs), which are harmful mycotoxins that can spoil food crops and represent significant health risks to animals and humans. The aim of this study was to analyze fifty samples of livestock and poultry feed to identify mycotoxigenic fungi at both morphological and molecular levels, focusing on their toxigenic potential and genetic diversity. Out of the samples tested, six were confirmed as Aspergillus flavus using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) specific primers, accounting for approximately 12 % of the total detected microorganisms. Morphological and molecular analyses revealed that all strains exhibited 97-100 % similarity with a reference strain and were significant producers of B-type AFs. The data showed that all samples except one (S1) contained total aflatoxin levels below 20 μg/ kg, considered safe for animal consumption according to the European Union (EU), United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA), and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. To assess the genetic variability among A. flavus strains, twelve inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) primers and seven Sequence Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP) primer combinations were utilized, producing scorable and reproducible banding patterns with about 52 % polymorphism. Various genetic diversity parameters, including polymorphic information content (PIC), effective multiplex ratio (EMR), marker index (MI), and resolving power (RP) were evaluated to determine effectiveness of the primers in distinguishing the genetic variations among the A. flavus strains. As particularly valuable markers, the results indicated that ISSR-13, SRAP-1, and SRAP-6 exhibited higher PIC, RP, and MI values, thereby proving to be more informative for identifying the genetic variants.

Infection of the urogenital tract of women with various microorganisms can affect the course of pregnancy and fetal development. The aim of the study was to determine the species structure of the cervical canal microbiota and its relationship with the development of pathological processes during pregnancy. The inclusion criteria were patients with the diagnoses of: “Isthmic-cervical insufficiency requiring medical care for the mother”, “Bleeding in early pregnancy”, “Placental disorders”, “Preterm labor”, “Postpartum sepsis”, “Singleton birth, spontaneous labor”. Exclusion criteria were; HIV infection, diabetes mellitus, and thyroid and adrenal diseases. This study involved 2222 patients with various obstetric pathologies, where smears from the cervical canal of all patients were analyzed. Microorganism growth was detected in 1783 samples, while in 439 cases it was not. For cultivation, cultural methods of bacteriological analysis were used. For species identification, the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry method (“Mtrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer”) was used. In the group associated with complications arising during pregnancy, we found a predominant number of 263 strains of Staphylococcus spp. (27.6 %) and the smallest percentage was 5 strains of Enterobacter spp. (0.53 %). In women diagnosed with “Preterm birth”, 404 Staphylococcus spp. (36.2 %) and 4 Enterobacter spp. (0.4%) were recovered. In women diagnosed with “Singleton birth, spontaneous birth”, 305 Staphylococcus spp. (32.83 %) and 5 Enterobacter spp. (0.54 %) were detected. In women diagnosed with “Postpartum sepsis”, 84 Staphylococcus spp. (32.9 %) and 3 Enterobacter spp. (1.2 %) were obtained. It was observed that the predominant microorganisms in all four groups were Staphylococcus spp., in second place - Enterococcus spp., in third place - Lactobacillus spp., in intermediate position - Candida spp., Escherichia spp., and Streptococcus spp., and the least amount was for - Enterobacter spp.