Temporal changes in the gut microbiota in farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) outweigh the response to diet supplementation with macroalgae

Keating, C. , Bolton-Warberg, M., Hinchcliffe, J., Davies, R., Whelan, S., Wan, A.H.L., Fitzgerald, R.D., Davies, S.J., Ijaz, U.Z. and Smith, C.J. (2021) Temporal changes in the gut microbiota in farmed Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) outweigh the response to diet supplementation with macroalgae. Animal Microbiome, 3, 7. (doi: 10.1186/s42523-020-00065-1) (PMID:33500003) (PMCID:PMC7934267)

[img] Text
222481.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

7MB

Abstract

Background: Aquaculture successfully meets global food demands for many fish species. However, aquaculture production of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is just 2.5% of total market production. For cod farming to be a viable economic venture specific challenges on how to increase growth, health and farming productivity need to be addressed. Feed ingredients play a key role here. Macroalgae (seaweeds) have been suggested as a functional feed supplement with both health and economic benefits for terrestrial farmed animals and fish. The impact of such dietary supplements to cod gut integrity and microbiota, which contribute to overall fish robustness is unknown. The objective of this study was to supplement the diet of juvenile Atlantic cod with macroalgae and determine the impacts on fish condition and growth, gut morphology and hindgut microbiota composition (16S rRNA amplicon sequencing). Fish were fed one of three diets: control (no macroalgal inclusion), 10% inclusion of either egg wrack (Ascophyllum nodosum) or sea lettuce (Ulva rigida) macroalgae in a 12-week trial. Results: The results demonstrated there was no significant difference in fish condition, gut morphology or hindgut microbiota between the U. rigida supplemented fish group and the control group at any time-point. This trend was not observed with the A. nodosum treatment. Fish within this group were further categorised as either ‘Normal’ or ‘Lower Growth’. ‘Lower Growth’ individuals found the diet unpalatable resulting in reduced weight and condition factor combined with an altered gut morphology and microbiome relative to the other treatments. Excluding this group, our results show that the hindgut microbiota was largely driven by temporal pressures with the microbial communities becoming more similar over time irrespective of dietary treatment. The core microbiome at the final time-point consisted of the orders Vibrionales (Vibrio and Photobacterium), Bacteroidales (Bacteroidetes and Macellibacteroides) and Clostridiales (Lachnoclostridium). Conclusions: Our study indicates that U. rigida macroalgae can be supplemented at 10% inclusion levels in the diet of juvenile farmed Atlantic cod without any impact on fish condition or hindgut microbial community structure. We also conclude that 10% dietary inclusion of A. nodosum is not a suitable feed supplement in a farmed cod diet.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Keating, Dr Ciara and Smith, Professor Cindy and Ijaz, Dr Umer
Authors: Keating, C., Bolton-Warberg, M., Hinchcliffe, J., Davies, R., Whelan, S., Wan, A.H.L., Fitzgerald, R.D., Davies, S.J., Ijaz, U.Z., and Smith, C.J.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary Medicine
Journal Name:Animal Microbiome
Publisher:BioMed Central
ISSN:2524-4671
ISSN (Online):2524-4671
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2021 The Authors
First Published:First published in Animal Microbiome 3: 7
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

Project CodeAward NoProject NamePrincipal InvestigatorFunder's NameFunder RefLead Dept
170256Understanding microbial community through in situ environmental 'omic data synthesisUmer Zeeshan IjazNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)NE/L011956/1ENG - Infrastructure & Environment