Keywords aerobic stability, aflatoxin B1, corn silage, hot and humid, lactic acid bacteria. Correspondence AbstractAim: To effectively make high-quality silage in hot and humid area. Methods and Results: The natural lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains CZ149, XH358, XH753 and XH761 isolated from corn and Napier grass were screened by the potential of low pH growth and high lactic acid production, and their effect on silage quality, aerobic stability and aflatoxin B1 production of wholecrop corn was also studied in Sichuan, China. Four selected strains were Gram-positive and catalase-negative, rod-shaped strains that are able to grow at pH 3Á5 and at 45°C. Strains CZ149, XH358, XH753 and XH761 were identified as Lactobacillus plantarum, L. salivarius, L. rhamnosus and L. paracasei, respectively. After 60 days of fermentation, all LAB strains showed no significant relationship with the quality of corn silage, whereas the lowest aflatoxin B1 and lactic-to-acetic ratio were detected in strain XH753-treated silage. Strain CZ149-treated silage showed worse aerobic stability and higher aflatoxin B1 concentration than control, whereas strain XH753-treated silage had better aerobic stability and lowest aflatoxin B1 concentration after aerobic exposure in hot and humid condition for 5 days. Conclusions: The three L. plantarum strains used in this study are not suitable as inoculants for local whole-crop corn silage, whereas L. rhamnosus 753 could prolong the aerobic stability and inhibit the accumulation of aflatoxin B1 at hot and humid condition. Significance and Impact of the Study: This study provides new information of LAB inoculants for corn silage in hot and humid areas. Especially, a screened strain of Lactobacillus rhamnosus 753 can be used as a candidate strains to make high-quality silage in tropical and subtropical areas.

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of Tremella fuciformis ferment substance (TFS) supplementation in diets on the growth performance, fat deposition, blood lipids, and mRNA expression of lipid storage-related enzymes in the liver and adipose tissue of finishing pigs. Twenty eight-week-old pigs (10.03±0.59 kg) were randomly allocated to two dietary treatments: maizesoyabean meal-based diets with (TFS group) and without TFS (control group). The results of the experiment indicate that compared with the control group, the TFS diet led to a significant increase in the average daily gain and feed conversion ratio of pigs weighing 10 to 100 kg. However, the average backfat depth and leaf lard weight were not affected by TFS. Ingestion of TFS specifically decreased the serum triglyceride and glucose concentrations, but did not change the levels of total cholesterol and free fatty acids in the serum. The mRNA expressions of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACCα) in the liver were down-regulated by dietary TFS. Conversely, the gene expressions of FAS and ACCα in the adipose tissue increased. The mRNA level of carnitine palmityl transferase-I (CPT-I) in adipose tissue was also increased by TFS. These results suggest that the addition of TFS at a dose of 4 g kg -1 improves growth performance and lowers lipid metabolism in finishing pigs.