While we have mainly focused on the fish gut-microbiota in
our lectures, I think it is worth noting the importance of understanding the
microbiota of other commercially valued species such as the Pacific white
shrimp. Studying the microbiota of such economically important species is of
particular importance in terms of understanding the health and well-being of
the organism to enhance its commercial benefits.
In this study, Tzuc et al. focused on developing our understanding of the microbiota of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, looking specifically for bacteria with digestive enzymatic capabilities. Bacteria were isolated from the stomach, hepatopancreas and intestine of ten individual shrimp and plate streaking was used to isolate 64 bacterial strains from the three organs. Colonies were identified using 16S rRNA analysis and morphological and physiological characteristics. The isolates of which were found to be species of Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio, all of which showed to have various extracellular enzyme capabilities including; protease, amylase, chitinase, lipase and esterase, known to aid with the digestion process. This suggested the potential of these species for degrading principle dietary components of the L. vannamei. Further work would be needed, however, to assess the use of this enzymatic ability in vivo, as it is yet unclear if the enzymatic ability in the digestive tract is down to the organism itself or its associated bacterial flora.
The isolation of these Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio species confirmed the importance of these genera in shrimp digestion. Previously, members of this genus have been used as probiotics in shrimp for aqua-culture purposes which is confirmed by this study as they fulfil the generic criteria of a probiotic by colonising and surviving passage through the gastrointestinal tract of the host organism whilst showing benefits to the host organism in terms of health. More specific work looking at the capabilities of the found species and their related health benefits must be analysed to confirm the use of these species as probiotics in shrimp aquaculture.
Tzuc, J., Escalante, D., Rojas Herrera, R., Gaxiola Cortés, G. and Ortiz, M. (2014). Microbiota from Litopenaeus vannamei: digestive tract microbial community of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). SpringerPlus, 3(1), p.280.
In this study, Tzuc et al. focused on developing our understanding of the microbiota of the Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, looking specifically for bacteria with digestive enzymatic capabilities. Bacteria were isolated from the stomach, hepatopancreas and intestine of ten individual shrimp and plate streaking was used to isolate 64 bacterial strains from the three organs. Colonies were identified using 16S rRNA analysis and morphological and physiological characteristics. The isolates of which were found to be species of Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio, all of which showed to have various extracellular enzyme capabilities including; protease, amylase, chitinase, lipase and esterase, known to aid with the digestion process. This suggested the potential of these species for degrading principle dietary components of the L. vannamei. Further work would be needed, however, to assess the use of this enzymatic ability in vivo, as it is yet unclear if the enzymatic ability in the digestive tract is down to the organism itself or its associated bacterial flora.
The isolation of these Pseudoalteromonas and Vibrio species confirmed the importance of these genera in shrimp digestion. Previously, members of this genus have been used as probiotics in shrimp for aqua-culture purposes which is confirmed by this study as they fulfil the generic criteria of a probiotic by colonising and surviving passage through the gastrointestinal tract of the host organism whilst showing benefits to the host organism in terms of health. More specific work looking at the capabilities of the found species and their related health benefits must be analysed to confirm the use of these species as probiotics in shrimp aquaculture.
Tzuc, J., Escalante, D., Rojas Herrera, R., Gaxiola Cortés, G. and Ortiz, M. (2014). Microbiota from Litopenaeus vannamei: digestive tract microbial community of Pacific white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). SpringerPlus, 3(1), p.280.
Hi Freya,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, our focus seems to be on the microflora of fish and we often ignore other species.
Do you think that shrimps, and other commercially important species actually require probiotic supplementation?
Jack
Hi Jack,
ReplyDeleteI think probiotics are definitely worth considering for maintaining high standards in all aspects of aquaculture, there have actually been quite a few studies to show how they can benefit various other species in terms of health, reproduction and general commercial value (Michael et al. sum the benefits up pretty well in this review). I do think,however, that there is still a lot of work needed to develop them for specific species as for full effectiveness, the probitotic used will need to be tailored to the species being cultured.
Thanks,
Freya
Hey Freya, nice post! I was wondering if you think these microbial species will differ between different shrimp species? Depending on where the shrimp was found possibly? Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteHi Elyssa,
ReplyDeleteYes, I definitely think that environmental conditions will have a strong impact on the microbiota of individual shrimp, I've read that conventionalization of the shrimp microbiota can improve productivity, so perhaps it would be interesting to look at how probiotic effectiveness can vary with the differences in the starting microbiota of the organism!
Thanks, Freya :)
Hi Freya,
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by conventionalisation of the microbiota?
Hi Elyssa,
ReplyDeleteSorry, I meant it in terms of standardising the gut microbiota in the shimps, so you can select specific microbes to colonise in the early stages of development of the shrimp. Shrimp bread in captivity will be exposed to relatively similar environmental conditions in development so they would have similar gut microbiotas, where I assume wild shrimp, exposed to varying environmental conditions, would have a more varied microbiota, depending on conditions and bacteria present during early development.
Hope this helps!
I see-thankyou for explaining. May be quite hard to achieve, especially as we are more on our way to organic shrimp farming. Thanks :)
ReplyDelete