The aims of this study were to unravel the intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei after being fed a diet without (control) or with the synbiotic (SYN) for 60 days using next-generation sequencing technology to see if changes in the intestinal microbiota were involved in the improved growth performance and health status of the shrimp. Next-generation sequencing data showed that six phyla, 11 classes, 19 orders, 30 families, 58 genera and 73 species with taxonomic names assigned were detected. The majority of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) was shared between the SYN and control shrimp and comprised 37 OTUs. However, intestinal biodiversity analyses revealed that SYN-fed shrimp had a higher species richness, evenness and Shannon-Weaver index than did shrimp fed the control diet, but without reaching statistical significance. Interestingly, shrimp fed the SYN diet exhibited improved colonization of Lactobacillus plantarum and reduced prevalences of Vibrio harveyi and Photobacterium damselae in the intestines. These findings indicate that the SYN was able to modulate the intestinal bacterial community of shrimp and could be used to control vibriosis in shrimp. K E Y W O R D Sgalactooligosaccharide, intestinal microbiota, Lactobacillus plantarum, Litopenaeus vannamei, synbiotic

The purpose of the present study is to profile the microfloral structure in the intestines of the white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, after being fed a control diet, in comparison with the diets containing Bacillus subtilis E20‐fermented soybean meal (FSBM) or an antimicrobial peptide (AMP) isolated from B. subtilis E20‐FSBM (diets designated FSBMD and AMPD, respectively) for 60 days. Metagenomic data showed detection of eight phyla, 20 classes, 40 orders, 68 families and 96 genera. Despite no statistically significant difference, an evaluation of microbial diversity recorded higher species richness, Shannon–Weaver diversity index and evenness in the AMPD and FSBMD groups, compared to the control diet group. Venn diagrams showed that 58 of the operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were shared among the control, FSBMD and AMPD groups, but additional beneficial microbes were only found in the FSBMD and AMPD groups. In addition to the augmentation of beneficial bacteria in the FSBMD and AMPD groups, the abundance of potential pathogens, Vibrio and Flavobacterium, was lower in the gut of shrimp fed the FSBMD and AMPD. The results clearly suggest that the FSBMD and AMPD have the capability to change the microfloral structure of shrimp intestines and could be used for disease prevention in shrimp aquaculture.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the probiotic efficiency of Bacillus subtilis E20 (109 colony‐forming units kg−1) on the growth and apparent digestibility coefficients (ADCs) of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), amino acids (AAs), and crude lipids (CLs) of the white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. A control diet without probiotic supplementation was used. Shrimp exhibited significant increases in growth performance and feed utilization after being fed the test diet for 56 days. Shrimp were then used to evaluate the apparent nutrient digestibility using 0.1% Cr2O3 in the diet as an indicator. During the trial, faeces was collected from triplicate groups of shrimp twice daily. ADCs of CP and DM in the test diet significantly increased compared to those of the control diet. Although the ADCs of CLs did not significantly differ between the control and probiotic group, the ADC of CLs was higher in the probiotic group than in the control group. In addition, ADCs of most AAs in the test diet were significantly higher compared to those of the control diet. These results suggest that shrimp in the test group had significantly better growth performance, which was due to increases in nutrient digestibility and absorption.

Mushrooms, the edible fungi, contain some healthy compounds, such as polysaccharide and triterpenes, and low calorie. Therefore, the demand for mushrooms is gradually increased. The annual turnover of mushroom is around NT$ 13.3 billion, which is counted around 18% of the total vegetable production value (NT$ 73.3 billion) in Taiwan (Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan R.O.C., 2015). Currently, mushrooms are typically cultivated within a 3-D architectural structure inside air-conditioned facilities. Substrates used commonly in mushroom production include agricultural byproducts, such as cereal straw, rice, wheat, corn, and barley, cotton, cobs, husks, and pulp (Chang & Miles, 1989). After mushrooms are harvested, the spent mushroom substrate (SMS) becomes an agricultural wastes and by-products, which were estimated about 0.25 million tons per year in Taiwan. SMS has now be applied as compost,

Many seahorse species, including the longsnout seahorse, Hippocampus reidi are traded for medicinal and aquaria purposes (Rosa, Sampaio, & Barros, 2006). Based on the database from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Trade, approximately 7 million individuals within 70 countries or regions comprise the sources and/ or consumers of the seahorse trade. Hong Kong consumed 57% of the total seahorse trade volume (Evanson, Foster, Wiswedel, &