Ovine ill-thrift in Nova Scotia:II. The production of antibiotics by fungi isolated from forest and marshland soil

Abstract

SUMMARY Three hundred and seventy-six isolates, or about 9% of the cultures collected in 1967 and 1968 from soil of permanent pasture, that, prior to 1883, supported mixed conifer and deciduous forest, were cultivated in the laboratory. Antibiotic production was detected in 27% of the cultures. Similarly, 329 isolates, or 9% of those collected in the same period from soil of permanent pasture reclaimed from tidal marsh, were grown in the laboratory and antibiotics detected in 30%. The forest soil, because it was already known to have a denser fungal population, thus had a greater antibiotic production potential than the marshland soil. There was a small increase in the number of isolates from the forest soil that produced antibiotics when those obtained in the spring were compared to those collected in the autumn. The opposite relationship was found when the marshland isolates from the two seasons were similarly compared. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the fungal populations of these soils are a parameter in the aetiology of the ill-thrift that is found in ruminants at Nappan, Nova Scotia.