Changes in the Intestine Microbial, Digestive, and Immune-Related Genes of Litopenaeus vannamei in Response to Dietary Probiotic Clostridium butyricum Supplementation

Abstract

The intestine barrier serves as the front-line defense in shrimp. Clostridium butyricum (CB) can produce butyric acid that provides energy for the intestine epithelial cells of the host. However, the effects of dietary CB on the intestine microbiome and the digestion and immunity of the host is not clear. In this study, we therefore investigated the composition and metabolic activity of the intestine microbiome, and digestive and immune-related gene expression in Litopenaeus vannamei fed with diets containing different levels of CB: basal diet (control), 2.5 × 109 CFU kg−1 diet (CB1), 5.0 × 109 CFU kg−1 diet (CB2), and 1.0 × 1010 CFU kg−1 diet (CB3) for 56 days. Dietary CB altered the composition of the intestine microbiome. Specifically, the dominant bacterial phylum Proteobacteria was enriched in the CB3 group and weakened in the CB1 and CB2 groups. The Bacteroidetes was enriched in the CB1 and CB2 groups and weakened in the CB3 group. The Firmicutes was enriched in all three CB groups. At the genus level, the potential pathogen (Desulfovibrio and Desulfobulbus) were weakened, and beneficial bacteria (Bacillus, Clostridium, Lachmoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae, and Lactobacillus) were enriched in response to dietary CB; these might contribute to the expression of the host digestive genes (α-amylase, lipase, trypsin, fatty acid-binding protein, and fatty acid synthase) and immune-related genes (prophenoloxidase, lipopolysaccharide and β-1,3-glucan binding protein, lysozyme, crustin, and superoxide dismutase). Additionally, CB enhanced the bacterial metabolism, especially that of carbohydrates, polymers, amino acids, carboxylic acids, and amines. These results revealed that dietary CB had a beneficial effect on the intestine health of L. vannamei by modulating the composition of the intestine microbiome, enhancing the microbial metabolism activity, and promoting the digestion and immunity of the host. The optimal dietary supplementation dosage was found to be 5.0 × 109 CFU kg−1 in the diet.

Clostridium butyricum: a promising probiotic confers positive health benefits in aquatic animals

“…2010; Duan et al . 2018b). Furthermore, using C. butyricum can also increase the tight junction of intestinal epithelial cells, the connection and the height of intestine epithelium, and the neat rows and dense of intestine microvilli, which contribute to better digestion and absorption ability of nutrients from the feed (Duan et al .…”

“…2008), which could modulate the growth and selection of the gut microbiota (Duan et al . 2018b; Foysal et al . 2019; Li et al .…”

“…In addition, C. butyricum increased the expression of digestive genes (such as α‐amylase, lipase, trypsin, fatty acid‐binding protein and fatty acid synthase) in whiteleg shrimp ( L. vannamei ) (Duan et al . 2018b). Thus, the increased level of fatty acid‐binding protein and fatty acid synthase genes indicated the contribution of the probiotic in the fatty acid biosynthesis of shrimp, particularly SCFAs.…”

“…In addition, a dietary C. butyricum enhanced the relative expression of immune‐related genes, including prophenoloxidase (proPO), lipopolysaccharide‐ and β‐1,3‐glucan binding protein, lysozyme, crustin and SOD, in whiteleg shrimp ( L. vannamei ) (Duan et al . 2018b). In addition, the diets supplemented with spray‐dried spores or the mixture of live cell and supernatant stimulated the expression of superoxide dismutase, lysozyme, proPO, Toll, Immune deficiency, Relish, TOR, 4E‐BP, eIF4E1α and eIF4E2 genes (Li et al .…”

Evaluating the effects of dietary resistant starch on growth, digestion, metabolism, immunity and resistance to ammonia stress in Litopenaeus vannamei

“…The Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei , is one of the most important marine species worldwide (Duan, Wang, Dong et al, ). Shrimp cultivation has suffered from serious issues recently due to polluted environments and diseases.…”