The individual and combined effects of feeding moniliformin, supplied by Fusarium fujikuroi culture material, and deoxynivalenol in young turkey poults

The effects of feeding diets containing either 20 mg deoxynivalenol (DON)/kg, 100 mg moniliformin (M)/kg, or a combination of DON and M (20 mg/kg DON and 100 mg M/kg) were evaluated in growing turkey poults, from 1 to 21 d of age. Feed intake and BW gains were decreased (P < 0.05) by dietary treatments containing M. Feed conversion was not affected by any of the dietary treatments, and no interactive effects on performance were evident between M and DON. Absolute weights of hearts and kidneys were increased (P < 0.05) in poults fed diets containing M. Mean cell volume was decreased by the M and DON-M treatments; however, the decrease was much smaller in poults fed the combination DON-M treatment resulting in a significant (P < 0.05) DON by M interaction. Mean cell hemoglobin and mean cell hemoglobin concentrations were not affected by any of the dietary treatments. No histological lesions were seen in control poults or poults fed DON alone. Lesions associated with dietary treatments were only observed in the heart and kidney. Poults fed diets containing M alone or the DON-M combination exhibited an increased incidence of variable sized cardiomyocyte nuclei, with numerous large giant nuclei, and a generalized loss of cardiomyocyte cross striations. Isolated renal tubules in sections of kidney were noted to have mild diffuse mineralization in poults fed M and the combination DON-M treatments. None of the response variables measured were affected by DON alone. No toxic synergy was observed when these toxins were fed simultaneously to turkey poults for 21 d.