Tilapia aquaculture, emerging diseases, and the roles of the skin microbiomes in health and disease

Abstract

Aquaculture is playing an increasingly important role in global food security, especially for low-income and food-deficit countries. The majority of aquaculture production occurs in freshwater earthen ponds and tilapia has quickly become one of the most widely adopted culture species in these systems. Tilapia are now farmed in over 140 countries facilitated by their ease of production, adaptability to a wide range of environmental conditions, fast growth, and high nutritional value. Typically, tilapia have been considered a hardy, disease resilient species; however, the disease is increasing with subsequent threats to the industry as their production is intensified. In this review, we discuss tilapia production, with a focus on Bangladesh as one of the top producing countries, and highlight the problems associated with disease and treatment approaches for them, including the misuse of antimicrobials. We address a key missing component in understanding health and disease processes for sustainable production in aquaculture, specifically the role played by the microbiome. Here we examine the importance of the microbiome in supporting health, focused on the symbiotic microbial community of the fish skin mucosal surface, the abiotic and biotic factors that influence the microbiome, and the shifts that are associated with diseased states. We also identify conserved taxa of skin microbiomes that may be used as indicators of health status for tilapia offering new opportunities to mitigate and manage the disease and optimize environmental growing conditions and farming practices.

Nanopore sequencing for identification and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. from tilapia and shrimp sold at wet markets in Dhaka, Bangladesh

“…Aquaculture production of tilapia and shrimp in Bangladesh has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by increasing demands from domestic consumers and export markets ( Haque and Belton, 2021 ; Debnath et al, 2023 ; El-Sayed and Fitzsimmons, 2023 ). However, this expansion has raised concerns regarding antimicrobial use (AMU) practices and food safety aspects within the industry.…”

Influence of host phylogeny and water physicochemistry on microbial assemblages of the fish skin microbiome

“…There have been far fewer studies, however, examining the microbiota in fish skin (Gomez and Primm 2021 , Wang et al 2023 , Berggren et al 2022 ). Understanding the composition of fish skin microbiomes and the dynamics in response to environmental conditions will help establish their associations with health and disease (Berggren et al 2022 , Debnath et al 2023 ) and in turn, optimize aquaculture practices (Palladino et al 2021 , Sánchez-Cueto et al 2023 ). To date, there has been relatively little exploration of how skin microbiomes are affected by water physicochemical or biological stressors.…”

Prevalence, Morphological, and Molecular Diagnosis of Some Foodborne Encysted Metacercariae Affecting Fish and Their Control Using Some Food Safety Measures

“…It has a high economic value and an increased growth rate, as well as tolerating variability of environmental conditions. Moreover, it can be cultured simply owing to its resistance to huge amounts of organic substance in the water and low O 2 level (Arguedas et al, 2017;Debnath et al, 2023). In Egypt, another group of fish 'Mullets' are considered popular and highly consumed by the Egyptians as a result of their high taste.…”