The marula and elephant intoxication myth: assessing the biodiversity of fermenting yeasts associated with marula fruits (Sclerocarya birrea).

ABSTRACT: The inebriation of wild African elephants from eating the ripened and rotting fruit of the marula tree is a persistent myth in Southern Africa. However, the yeasts responsible for alcoholic fermentation to intoxicate the elephants remain poorly documented. In this study, we considered Botswana, a country with the world's largest population of wild elephants, and where the marula tree is indigenous, abundant and protected, to assess the occurrence and biodiversity of yeasts with a potential to ferment and subsequently inebriate the wild elephants. We collected marula fruits from over a stretch of 800 km in Botswana and isolated 106 yeast strains representing 24 yeast species. Over 93% of these isolates, typically known to ferment simple sugars and produce ethanol comprising of high ethanol

SUBMITTER: Makopa TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10581541 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature