Agapanthus Praecox Research Articles (Page 1)

Novel species of fungi described in this study include those from various countries as follows: Argentina, Septoria reinamora on leaf spots of Mutisia spinosa. Australia, Cortinarius albofolliculus on mossy soil, Cortinarius descensoriformis among leaf litter, Cortinarius kaki among leaf litter, Cortinarius lissosporus in leaf litter, Cortinarius malogranatus in leaf litter, Cortinarius meletlac on soil in mixed forest, Cortinarius sebosioides in long decayed wood litter, Helicogermslita australiensis as an endophyte from healthy leaves of Archontophoenix cunninghamiana, Puccinia clemensiorum on culms of Eleocharis ochrostachys, Puccinia geethae on leaves of Cyperus brevifolius, Puccinia marjaniae on leaves of Nymphoides indica, Puccinia scleriae-rugosae on leaves of Scleria rugosa. Brazil, Dactylaria calliandrae on living leaf of Calliandra tweediei, Mucor cerradoensis from soil, Musicillium palmae on living leaves of unidentified palm species, Neodendryphiella agapanthi from stalks of Agapanthus praecox, Parafusicladium riodejaneiroanum on living leaves of native bamboo, Parapenidiella melastomatis on living leaves of unidentified Melastomataceae, Pararamichloridium ouropretoense on living leaves of unidentified Poaceae, Pentagonomyces endophyticus (incl. Pentagonomyces gen. nov.) as endophytic from roots of Musa acuminata, Polyschema endophytica from healthy roots of coffee plant, Purimyces endophyticus as root endophyte of Cattleya locatellii, Ramularia rhododendri on living leaves of Rhododendron sp., Staphylotrichum soli from soil, Trichoderma sexdentis from leaves inside a nest of the leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa, Wiesneriomyces soli from soil. France, Cosmospora nemaniae on dead or effete stromata of Nemania cf. colliculosa, Inocybe alnobetulae in subalpine green alder stands, Stylonectria hygrophila on dead twigs of Betula pubescens. Germany, Coniochaeta corticalis from bark humus, Coniochaeta fermentaria from fermentation residues from biogas plants, Coniochaeta fibricola from softwood fibres, Coniochaeta weberae from bark humus, Inocybe canicularis on calcareous to more acidic soil with conifers. Iceland, Inocybe islandica associated with Dryas octopetala. India, Vishniacozyma indica on dead twigs. Iran, Botryotrichum lycii on rotten leaf of Lycium depressum. Italy, Cuphophyllus dolomiticus among Salix retusa, Salix reticulata and Dryas octopetala, Inocybe subentolomospora on moss with the presence of Alnus incana, Populus nigra and Salix spp. Malaysia, Catenulostroma pellitae on leaf spots of Eucalyptus pellita. Mexico, Colletotrichum mexicanus from fruit of Persea americana cv. Hass. New Caledonia (France), Cortinarius caeloculus, Cortinarius luteigemellus and Cortinarius perpensus on soil under Nothofagus aequilateralis. New Zealand, Cytospora braithwaitei on branch of Malus domestica. Pakistan, Callistosporium khalidii on humus soil, Entoloma lilacinum on litter in conifer forest, Laccaria decolorans on litter in broad-leaved subtropical forest. Poland, Pseudoneoconiothyrium modrzynanum from resin of Larix decidua ssp. polonica, Tuberculiforma enigmatica isolated from sooty mould community on Quercus robur leaves. Portugal, Clavulus hemisphaericus (incl. Clavulus gen. nov.) on mossy slopes and under Laurus leaf litter, Entoloma daegae on sandy, granitic soil, Hygrocybe aurantiocitrina under laurel forest, Hygrocybe sanguineolutea gregarious in laurel forest, Hygrocybe vulcanica on mossy areas of laurel forest areas, Pachyphlodes algarvensis on sandy soil under Cistus salvifolius, Quercus suber and Pinus pinea. South Africa, Amycosphaerella podalyriae on leaf of Podalyria calyptrata, Erythrobasidium eucalypti from the gut of Gonipterus sp., Letendraea goniomae on leaves of Gonioma kamassi, Pezicula brabeji and Sphaerulina brabeji on twigs of Brabejum stellatifolium, Stachybotrys conicosiae on dead flower head of Conicosia elongata, Talaromyces ignescens from soil. Spain, Cortinarius phaeobrunneus on soil under Quercus ilex and Q. faginea, Inocybe pini-halepensis among grass and fallen leaves of Pinus halepensis, Inocybe subporcorum in sandy soils under Quercus ilex subsp. ballota and Pinus pinaster, Mycena morenoi on dead leaves of Betula pubescens and Salix atrocinerea, Pachyphlodes iberica on clayey and loamy soil under Quercus ilex and Quercus rotundifolia, Ramariopsis coronata in laurel forest. Switzerland, Inocybe minata in a bog on very wet acidic soil with Salix spp. and Betula spp. Thailand, Hypocrella khonsanitii on scale insects (Coccidae), Petchiella hymenopterorum on hymenopteran pupae in the nest (Hymenoptera). Trinidad and Tobago, Neodevriesia maravalensis from office swab. Türkiye, Russula anatolica under Quercus vulcanica. UK, Paracylindrosporium dactylorhizae (incl. Paracylindrosporium gen. nov.) on leaf spots of Dactylorhiza sp., Niesslia hepworthiae and Niesslia libertiae on living leaves of Libertia grandiflora. Ukraine, Lichenohendersonia cetrariae on thallus of terricolous Cetraria aculeata. USA, Atromagnispora indianensis (incl. Atromagnispora gen. nov.) on submerged wood in a freshwater stream, Cytospora michiganensis from utility room (settle plate), Exophiala aeris from air (settle plate), Hongoboletus americanus from mixed pine-hardwood forest, Lorrainsmithia pennsylvanica from bedroom, air, Superstratomyces massachusettsanus from lyse buffer. Vietnam, Aspergillus halopiscium on dry marine anchovy Stolephorus commersonnii. Morphological and culture characteristics are supported by DNA barcodes.

The proliferation and differentiation of callus is the foundation for plant regeneration and propagation. The type of carbon sources in the medium significantly influences the efficacy of callus proliferation and differentiation in plants in vitro. Our study performed transcriptomic and physiological analyses utilizing sucrose, glucose, and maltose to understand the physiological and molecular characteristics of the proliferation and differentiation potential affected by carbon sources in Agapanthus praecox. Differentially expressed genes were notably associated with plant hormone signal transduction, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and MAPK signaling in the proliferation and differentiation of callus. The physiological indicators suggest glucose enhanced both callus and cell size by increasing endogenous indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), cytokinin, brassinosteroid, gibberellin (GAs), starch, and glucose levels, while concurrently reducing levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (·OH). Conversely, sucrose treatment promoted differentiation potential by elevating IAA oxidase activity alongside stress-related hormones such as abscisic acid and ethylene levels. Additionally, sucrose treatment led to increased accumulation of sucrose, fructose, H2O2, and ·OH within the callus tissue. Furthermore, sucrose influenced the regenerative capacity by modulating glycometabolism and osmoregulation. Our study posits that glucose facilitates callus proliferation via diminished ROS intensity while sucrose promotes callus differentiation by maintaining moderate ROS levels. Altogether, our results suggest carbon sources affected the regenerative capabilities of callus by regulating plant hormone signal and ROS intensity in A. praecox.

Fusarium agapanthi is newly reported from the centre of origin of Agapanthus in South Africa, where it is associated with dead flower stalks of Agapanthus praecox. Mjuua agapanthi, a rare hyphomycete with a morphology corresponding to asexual morphs of Pyxidiophora, was isolated as mycoparasitic on F. agapanthi, along with bacteria that co-occurred in synnematal heads of M. agapanthi. Germinating conidia of M. agapanthi were observed to parasitise germinating conidia of F. agapanthi. Although M. agapanthi could not be cultivated on its own, the association with Fusarium proved to not be restricted to F. agapanthi, as it could also be cultivated with other Fusarium spp. Mjuua agapanthi is a member of Pyxidiophorales, an order of obligate insect parasitic microfungi. The exact role of the bacteria in synnematal heads of M. agapanthi remains to be further elucidated, although one bacterium, Alsobacter metallidurans, appeared to cause lysis of the synnematal conidial cell walls. This discovery suggests that many unculturable obligate biotrophic microbes can probably be cultivated if co-cultivated with their respective hosts. Citation: Crous PW, Dijksterhuis J, Figge M, Sandoval-Denis M (2024). Mjuua agapanthi gen. et sp. nov., a biotrophic mycoparasite of Fusarium spp. Fungal Systematics and Evolution 13: 153-161. doi: 10.3114/fuse.2024.13.09.

Development and application of virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) for studying ApTT8 gene function in Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis

Agapanthus praecox Willd. is an ornamental flowering plant that is indigenous to southern Africa and was reported to be a host of tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) in Australia in 2000 (Wilson et al. 2000). Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) belonging to the genus Orthotospovirus of the family Tospoviridae is a single-stranded negative sense RNA virus known to cause disease symptoms in many crops and ornamental plant species. This virus is in the top 10 of most economically important plant viruses worldwide (Rybicki 2015; Scholthof et al. 2011). In May 2021, leaf material from three agapanthus (Agapanthus praecox) plants displaying chlorotic mottling, and yellow lesions (Supplementary material 1A) was collected in Mbombela, South Africa. One gram of symptomatic leaf material was used for total RNA extraction from each of the three samples using a CTAB extraction protocol (Ruiz-García et al. 2019). The three RNA extracts were pooled, and a sequencing library was constructed using the Ion Total RNA-Seq Kit v2.0 and RiboMinus™ Plant Kit for RNA-Seq (ThermoFisher Scientific) (Central Analytical Facility (CAF), Stellenbosch University). The RNA library was sequenced on an Ion Torrent Proton Instrument (CAF). A total of 34,392,939 single-end reads were obtained. Data was trimmed for quality with Trimmomatic (CROP:250, MINLEN:50). De novo assembly was performed on the remaining 32,281,645 trimmed reads (average readlength: 100 nt, range: 50-250 nt) using SPAdes 3.13.0 and resulted in 4,788 contigs. BLASTn analysis identified viral contigs longer than 1,000 nucleotides (nts) with high nucleotide (nt) identity to TSWV (6 contigs), as well as to the newly discovered viruses, agapanthus tungro virus (AgTV) (1 contig), and agapanthus velarivirus (AgVV) (4 contigs) (Read et al 2021). Read mapping was performed against the relevant reference sequence with the highest nt identity to the contigs. For TSWV, 4995, 21221 and 14574 reads mapped to segment L (KY250488), M (KY250489) and S (KY250490) of isolate LK-1, respectively resulting in 99.97%, 100.00% and 99.97% genome coverage of the reference accessions. The nt identity between the reference accessions and the consensus sequences generated (OP921761-OP921763) were 97.26%, 97.64% and 97.82% for segment L, M and S. The presence of TSWV was confirmed in the HTS sample using an RT-PCR assay (primers L1 and L2) targeting the L segment of TSWV (Mumford et al. 1994). In July 2022, additional leaf samples displaying symptoms of chlorotic mottling, streaking, and ringspots were collected from 31 symptomatic and 3 asymptomatic agapanthus plants in public gardens in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Using the above-mentioned RT-PCR assay, 13 of the symptomatic samples tested positive for TSWV. All six plants displaying ring spot symptoms (Supplementary material 1B) were infected with TSWV. However, plants that displayed yellow streaking (five samples) and chlorotic mottling (two samples) (Supplementary material 1C-D) were also positive for TSWV which could be due to the presence of other viruses, plant growth stage, infection time or just variable symptom expression in a single host species as reported previously (Sherwood et al. 2003). The 275 bp RT-PCR amplicons of the HTS sample and three additional positive samples were validated with bidirectional Sanger sequencing (CAF) and had 96% identity to accession KY250488. The pairwise nt identity between amplicons was 98.55-100%. This is the first report of TSWV infecting agapanthus in South Africa. This study contributes information towards the distribution and incidence of TSWV and highlights the need for nurseries to screen plant material before propagation.

ApGA20ox1, a key gibberellin biosynthesis gene, regulates somatic embryogenesis and plant height in Agapanthus praecox

Transcriptomic and physiological analyses reveal the acquisition of somatic embryogenesis potential in Agapanthus praecox

Agapanthus praecox has become a burgeoning variety in the flower market due to its high ornamental value with unique large blue-purple inflorescence. For rapid entering into the market, tissue culture technology or organogenesis has an attractive application over the conventional reproduction approach. In this study, a highly efficient protocol based on indirect organogenesis has been successfully established for A. praecox subsp. orientalis ‘Big Blue’. Two types of explants, root tips versus root segments, were compared for callus induction frequency in response to the induction culture media. The induction media contain Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) Basal Salt supplemented with various concentrations of picloram (PIC), 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), thidiazuron (TDZ), kinetin (KT) and naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). Of the two types of explants, root tips were found to be more effective for callus induction than root segments. Among the induction media tested, the highest callus induction rate (100.00%) was achieved when cultured on MS supplemented with 2.0 mg/L PIC, 1.5 mg/L KT and 0.1 mg/L NAA, which was probably accredited to higher endogenous phytohormone contents, especially of 3-indoleacetic (IAA). The optimal medium for callus proliferation was MS + 1.0 mg/L PIC + 1.0 mg/L 6-BA + 0.4 mg/L NAA, and the fresh weight increased by 72.74%. After being transferred onto the adventitious bud induction medium for 25 days, shoots were dedifferentiated from the surface of the flourishing callus, which then developed to the plantlet with roots in 90 days. The plantlets were transplanted in a greenhouse with a survival rate of 92.86%. This study innovatively established an indirect organogenesis tissue culture system of A. praecox with roots as explants, which provided a practical reference in its application.

BackgroundQuercetin is one of the most important bioflavonoids having positive effects on the biological processes and human health. Typically, it is extracted from plant matrices using conventional methods such as maceration, sonication, infusion, and Soxhlet extraction with high solvent consumption. Our study aimed to optimize the environmentally friendly carbon dioxide-based method for the extraction of quercetin from quince fruit with an emphasis on extraction yield, repeatability, and short extraction time.ResultsA two-step design of experiments was used for the optimization of the key parameters affecting physicochemical properties, including CO2/co-solvent ratio, co-solvent type, temperature, and pressure. Finally, gas expanded liquid combining CO2/ethanol/H2O in a ratio of 10/81/9 (v/v/v) provided the best extraction yield. Extraction temperature 66 °C and pressure 22.3 MPa were the most suitable conditions after careful optimization, although both parameters did not significantly affect the process. It was confirmed by experiments in various pressure and temperature conditions and statistical comparison of obtained data. The optimized extraction procedure at a flow rate of 3 mL/min took 30 min. The repeatability of the extraction method exhibited an RSD of 20.8%.ConclusionsThe optimized procedure enabled very fast extraction in 30 min using environmentally friendly solvents and it was successfully applied to 16 different plant samples, including 14 bulbs and 2 fruits from South Africa. The quercetin content in extracts was quantified using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) with tandem mass spectrometry. UHPLC hyphenated with high-resolution mass spectrometry was used to confirm chemical identity of quercetin in the analyzed samples. We quantified quercetin in 11 samples of all 16 tested plants. The quercetin was found in Agapanthus praecox from the Amaryllidaceae family and its presence in this specie was reported for the first time.Graphical

Somatic embryogenesis (SE) is an ideal model for plant cell totipotency. Transition from somatic cells to embryogenic cells is the key to SE. The poor frequency of embryogenic callus (EC) induction has limited the application of SE in many plants, such as Agapanthus praecox. We performed large-scale, quantitative proteomic and metabolomic analyses with different callus differentiation directions (SE and organogenesis) and stages (initial SE and repetitive SE) to better understand the morphological, physiological, and molecular characteristics of the acquisition of embryogenic ability in A. praecox. Integrated proteomic and metabolomic analyses suggested that callus differentiation direction was potentially regulated by pathways related to carbohydrate and energy metabolism (fatty acid metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose and glucuronate interconversions, starch and sucrose metabolism, galactose metabolism, carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes, carbohydrate digestion and absorption, and fructose and mannose metabolism), chromatin accessibility and DNA methylation, reactive oxygen species responses and resistance (ascorbate and aldarate metabolism), and plant hormonal signaling. As a validation, we found that carbon source combination and plant hormone regulation in the culture medium significantly affected the acquisition of embryogenic ability, thereby inducing EC. Interestingly, plant hormonal signaling-related genes showed different expression patterns significantly when callus cultured with different carbon sources. Thus, our results suggested that energy supply and hormone signal transduction seemed to cooperatively contribute to the activation of embryogenic ability. Altogether, this study revealed valuable information regarding the molecular and biochemical changes that occurred during EC induction and provided valuable foundation for comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms associated with SE and organogenesis in A. praecox.

Dehydrins (DHNs), as members of the late embryogenesis abundant protein family, play critical roles in the protection of seeds from dehydration and plant adaptation to multiple abiotic stresses. Vitrification is a basic method in plant cryopreservation and is characterized by forming a glassy state to prevent lethal ice crystals produced during cryogenic storage. In this study, ApSK3 type DHN was genetically transformed into embryogenic calluses (EC) of Agapanthus praecox by overexpression (OE) and RNA interference (RNAi) techniques to evaluate the in vivo protective effect of DHNs during cryopreservation. The cell viability showed a completely opposite trend in OE and RNAi cell lines, the cell relative death ratio was decreased by 20.0% in ApSK3-OE EC and significantly increased by 66.15% in ApSK3-RNAi cells after cryopreservation. Overexpression of ApSK3 increased the content of non-enzymatic antioxidants (AsA and GSH) and up-regulated the expression of CAT, SOD, POD, and GPX genes, while ApSK3-RNAi cells decreased antioxidant enzyme activities and FeSOD, POD, and APX genes expression during cryopreservation. These findings suggest that ApSK3 affects ROS metabolism through chelating metal ions (Cu2+ and Fe3+), alleviates H2O2 and OH· excessive generation, activates the antioxidant system, and improves cellular REDOX balance and membrane lipid peroxidation damage of plant cells during cryopreservation. DHNs can effectively improve cell stress tolerance and have great potential for in vivo or in vitro applications in plant cryopreservation.

Agapanthus praecox is a monocotyledonous, herbaceous, and perennial plant, which has been used as an ornamental and medicinal plant. Here, we assembled and characterized the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of A. praecox by de novo high throughput sequencing. The results revealed that the cp genome of A. praecox was 157,038 bp in total length, including a large single-copy (LSC) region of 85,195 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,113 bp, and two invert repeats (IR) regions of 26,865 bp. The total plastid genome of A. praecox included 132 genes comprising 86 protein-coding genes, 38 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted based on the complete cp genomes of 17 species and it indicated that A. praecox is closely related to A. coddi in Agapanthaceae family.

Cathepsin B-like cysteine protease ApCathB negatively regulates cryo-injury tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis and Agapanthus praecox

ApSerpin-ZX from Agapanthus praecox, is a potential cryoprotective agent to plant cryopreservation

BackgroundCryopreservation is the best way for long-term in vitro preservation of plant germplasm resources. The preliminary studies found that reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced oxidative stress and ice-induced membrane damage are the fundamental causes of cell death in cryopreserved samples. How to improve plant cryopreservation survival rate is an important scientific issue in the cryobiology field.ResultsThis study found that the survival rate was significantly improved by adding single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to plant vitrification solution (PVS) in cryopreservation of Agapanthus praecox embryogenic callus (EC), and analyzed the oxidative response of cells during the control and SWCNTs-added cryopreservation protocol. The SWCNTs entered EC at the step of dehydration and mainly located around the cell wall and in the vesicles, and most of SWCNTs moved out of EC during the dilution step. Combination with physiological index and gene quantitative expression results, SWCNTs affect the ROS signal transduction and antioxidant system response during plant cryopreservation. The EC treated by SWCNTs had higher antioxidant levels, like POD, CAT, and GSH than the control group EC. The EC mainly depended on the AsA-GSH and GPX cycle to scavenge H2O2 in the control cryopreservation, but depended on CAT in the SWCNTs-added cryopreservation which lead to low levels of H2O2 and MDA. The elevated antioxidant level in dehydration by adding SWCNTs enhanced cells resistance to injury during cryopreservation. The ROS signals of EC were balanced and stable in the SWCNTs-added cryopreservation.ConclusionsThe SWCNTs regulated oxidative stress responses of EC during the process and controlled oxidative damages by the maintenance of ROS homeostasis to achieve a high survival rate after cryopreservation. This study is the first to systematically describe the role of carbon nanomaterial in the regulation of plant oxidative stress response, and provided a novel insight into the application of nanomaterials in the field of cryobiology.

The cryopreservation of plants through vitrification prevents ice damage by bringing the plants to a glassy state for cryogenic storage. Most angiosperm seeds are dehydrated to extremely low levels of their original water content, accumulate late embryogenesis abundant (LEA) proteins, and greatly increase their cytoplasmic viscosity, thereby reaching a glassy state during maturation. In this study, two LEA family recombinant dehydrin (DHN) proteins (Y2SK2 and SK3) from Agapanthus praecox, when added to the plant vitrification solution, were found to double the survival rate of Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings after cryopreservation. Evans blue staining revealed that the Y2SK2 and SK3 proteins decreased the damage to the plasma membranes of plant cells during cryopreservation. Furthermore, the Y2SK2 and SK3 proteins significantly decreased the malondialdehyde and H2O2 contents, increased the glutathione (GSH) content, and downregulated NADPH oxidase (RbohA) in A. thaliana seedlings. Thus, these DHNs may reduce excessive reactive oxygen species production and membrane lipid peroxidation damage under the complex stresses of cryopreservation. Additionally, Y2SK2 can effectively enhance peroxidase activity and catalase2 (CAT2) expression levels; SK3 obviously improved ascorbic acid (AsA) content, as well as Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase 5 (APX5) expression in plant cells and enhanced H2O2 scavenging capacity by promoting the activity of the AsA-GSH cycle. These findings suggested that Y2SK2 and SK3, the DHNs added at the dehydration step, can relieve cell cryoinjury by inducing high antioxidant levels and positive oxidative stress responses and act as protectants, improving plant cell viability after cryopreservation. Application of dehydrins optimization plant cryopreservation protocol, dehydrins can significantly improve complex stress damage and enhance the cell viability from cryopreservation.

Y2SK2 and SK3 type dehydrins from Agapanthus praecox can improve plant stress tolerance and act as multifunctional protectants

An ethno-veterinary survey of plants used to treat certain bacterial diseases of livestock in three geographical areas of the Eastern Cape was conducted during 2013 to 2014. A purposive sampling technique was carried out using a semi-structured questionnaire and field observations to document indigenous knowledge in 48 communal households. From the respondents of the 48 households, 64.6% men and 35.4% women were interviewed regarding their knowledge on the use of plants for the treatment of bacterial diseases in livestock.  Ten, eighteen and twenty respondents were surveyed at Goso, Ciko and Upper Ngqumeya, respectively. Six plants species, belonging to 6 families were documented and claimed by farmers to be used for the treatment of black quarter and paratyphoid in cattle. Results obtained showed that Agapanthus praecox Willd., Sarcophyte sanguinea and Olea europaea subsp. africana were used to treat black quarter, while Strychnos henningsii, Acokanthera oppositifolia and Dalbergia obovata were used to treat “perceived” paratyphoid in calves. Bark and leaves were the commonly used plant parts. Decoction and infusion were the main methods of preparation, while oral administration was the common route for treatment. Determination of the dose was done by using certain size bottles and plant parts by the handful as measurements. In the light of the present data, it can be concluded that, medicinal plants play a role in healthcare of livestock in rural communities. Key words: Cattle diseases, communal, farmers, Eastern Cape, medicinal plants.

Cloning and characterization of ApCystatin, a plant cystatin gene from Agapanthus praecox ssp. orientalis responds to abiotic stress

Twenty-two plant species extracted with dichloromethane and 90% methanol were investigated for their genotoxicity as well as antigenotoxicity against aflatoxin B1 induced-mutagenicity using the Ames (Salmonella typhimurium strains TA98 and TA100) and Vitotox assays in the presence of S9 rat liver fraction. The results obtained from Ames assay for some plant extracts correlated well with the results obtained from the Vitotox assay. Dichloromethane and methanolic extracts of Helichrysum petiolare, Protea hybrid, Protea roupelliae, Artabotrys brachypetalus (leaves), Friesodielsia obovata, Hexalobus monopetalus, Monanthotaxis caffra, Monodora junodis, Uvaria caffra, Xylopia parviflora, Podocarpus henkellii, Rhoicissus sekhukhuniensis, Podocarpus elongatus and Agapanthus praecox had moderate to strong antimutagenic activities in both Ames and Vitotox assays. The methanolic extract of Annona senegalensis and dichloromethane extract of Podocarpus falcutus also showed antigenotoxic potentials against aflatoxin B1 induced mutagenicity. Methanolic extracts of Xylopia sp., showed a co-mutagenic effect with aflatoxin B1 in the Ames assay (strain TA100). All extracts were not genotoxic in the Vitotox assay in the absence of S9. Plant extracts with promising antimutagenic effects could be used in the form of feed and food supplements as a preventative strategy against aflatoxin B1 induced mutagenicity and carcinogenicity.