Effects of bacterial inoculants on the microbial community, mycotoxin contamination, and aerobic stability of corn silage infected in the field by toxigenic fungi

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of inoculants on the microbial community and mycotoxins contamination of corn silage during aerobic exposure. Whole-crop corn infected with or without mycotoxigenic fungi were ensiled with Lentilactobacillus buchneri (LB, 1.0 × 106 cfu/g fresh weight (FW)), Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (LP, 1.0 × 106 cfu/g FW), or LBLP at 1.0 × 106 cfu/g FW each. The concentration of acetic acid (AcA) (P < 0.05) in LB and LBLP silages was higher than in control (C) and LP of non-fungal infection (NFI) silages. The fungal infection resulted in a larger increase of zearalenone (ZEN, P = 0.01), fumonisin B1 (FUB1, P = 0.02), and fumonisin B2 (FUB2, P = 0.02). The relative abundance (RA) of Issatchenkia in NFI was higher (P < 0.001) than FI silages, whereas the RA of Kazachstania (P < 0.001), Zygosaccharomyces (P = 0.047), and Candida (P = 0.025) in NFI were lower than these of FI silages. The aerobic stability was improved by the application of LB and LBLP as compared with the C of NFI silages. The LB and LBLP had the potential to improve aerobic stability and alleviate mycotoxins contamination of non-fungal infected corn silages. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]