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Mushrooms are nutritionally rich, healthy and medicinal. Pleurotus tuber-regium (Fr.) is one of the nutritious medicinal mushroom found in the tropics and subtropics, but with history of slow growth and low sclerotia yield. In this study, mutants were created by mycelia exposure to ultraviolet irradiation (at a wavelength of 254 nm and a distance of 45 cm), for 3 h and sub-cultured at 30 min interval. The DNA from the wild and mutant strains were extracted, PCR amplified and sequenced.A phylogenetic tree was constructed to show the degree of similarity and differences between the wild and the mutant strains. Fructification studies were conducted on Rhodes grass straw and sawdust to determine the viability of the mutant strains and any nutritional improvement. The wild strain of P. tuber-regium and mutant produced at 30 min (Pt30) cultivated on sawdust and Rhodes straw, yielded sclerotia with biological efficiency of 8.8 and 47.6% respectively. Proximate analysis of the sclerotium showed that the mutant, Pt30, had improved nutritional compositions compared to the wild strain with a total non-structural carbohydrate concentration of 2.41 g as against 0.93 g. Conclusively in this study, better strains of P. tuber-regium were produced with faster growth rate, higher mycelia ramification rate on lignocellulosic substrate and a higher sclerotia yield than the wild P. tuber-regium. It was also established that mutagenesis is capable of improving P. tuber-regium for a successful commercial venture in sclerotia production.

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Background Amylase is used commercially in food, textiles, sugar syrup, paper, and detergent industries. Bacteria and fungi remain a significant source of industrial enzymes. Pleurotus tuberregium is a macro-fungi that can exist as a fruiting body, sclerotium, mycelium, and spores. Some studies have been conducted on this fungus, with minimal studies on its enzyme activity (s) using the submerged fermentation technique. Results The purified amylase has a specific activity of 5.26 U/mg, total activity of 189.20 U, maximally active at 70 °C, pH of 5, and retaining 100% of its activity at 30 oC for 4 min. P. tuberregium amylase showed optimal activity with plantain peel, followed by starch and pineapple peel (42, 30, and 29 μg/mL/min respectively). The presence of Ca2+, Mg2+, and Na+ ions in the reaction mixture activated the enzyme activity, but was slightly and moderately inhibited by KCl and Na2H2PO4 respectively. The crude enzyme effectively clarified juice, liquefied soluble cassava starch (with a release of appreciable glucose quantity), and partially de-stained white fabric. Conclusions The amylase obtained from the submerged fermentation of Pleurotus tuberregium has potential applications in food and detergent industries.

The quality of potable water depends not only on its physical and chemical characteristics but also on its biological characteristics. Potable water is often sourced from surface water, mainly rivers, streams, lakes and groundwater -boreholes and wells; of which boreholes are supposedly superior. In the present study, the physicochemical and microbiological status of six newly drilled boreholes in Rafi Local Government Area, Minna, Niger State was assessed. Twenty-two physicochemical parameters and coliform count were determined. Water samples were collected from newly drilled borehole water sources in Tsofomension 1, TsofoMension 2, Katako, Tunga Bako, Kagara and Kwana. The colour, odour, taste, temperature, turbidity, conductivity, pH, chloride and copper ions were within acceptable limits. Iron and manganese content of the three regions were highly elevated

Good quality water must be odourless, colourless, tasteless and free from pathogens. This is adversely affected when it is polluted beyond certain limits. Potable water for domestic use should however be free of pathogenic organisms. Water samples were collected from Obere River in Orile-lgbon, Oyo state, Nigeria in order to study the antibiotic resistance pattern of isolated bacteria. The bacteria genera detected were Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Proteus and Flavobacterium. The isolates were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity test with about 90% showing multiple antibiotic resistance. All the isolates have a high resistance rate (100%) against amoxicillin, augmentin (100%), streptomycin (95%), chloramphenicol (95%) and ceftriaxone (90%); while, the least resisted antibiotics was ciprofloxacin (35%). It was concluded that Obere River in Orile-Igbon, Oyo State is polluted with pathogenic bacteria showing multiple antibiotic resistance. Thus, there is need for proper treatment of water in this study area before distribution for consumption and general domestic usage.

Bacterial deterioration is one of the most critical subjects in the production, processing, transport, and storing of food. The search for novel materials for the synthesis of nanoparticles is unending and this is likely to continue in the upcoming years. In this study, mycomeat samples were produced using cassava pulp (C) and tiger nut aggregate waste (T). The mycomeat extracts were used to produce nanosilver-mycomeat by catalytic conversion of Ag+ to Ag0. The antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of the nanosilver-mycomeat composites were determined using established methods. The nanosilver-mycomeat composites of both C and T showed increased antioxidant and antimicrobial activities compared to the ordinary mycomeat extract. This can find applications in the packaging of food, thereby preventing food samples from deterioration.

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