Impact of the diet in the gut microbiota after an inter-species microbial transplantation in fish

Abstract

Inter-species microbial transplantations offer the possibility of transferring species-specific microbes and their associated functionality. As a conceptual approach, an intestinal microbiota transplant (IMT) between two marine carnivorous fish species that thrive in different environmental conditions was conducted: from donor Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) to recipient gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), after obliterating its basal microbiota with an antibiotic treatment. To confirm that the gut microbiota was able to recover after antibiotics without the influence of the diet, a group of gilthead seabream not submitted to the IMT was kept fasted as an internal control. To assess the effect of the diet after the IMT, two groups of gilthead seabream were respectively fed with their typical diet and with Atlantic salmon diet. At 36 days post-IMT, the gut of the individuals fed with their typical diet was dominated by the feed-associated bacteria, while those fed with the salmon diet had developed a unique microbiota from the convergence of the diet, donor, and recipient microbiota. These results suggested that an intestinal microbiota transplantation may be effective if the basal microbiota from the gut is first cleared and a targeted dietary modification is provided to maintain and enrich the novel bacteria species over time.

Comparative study of the gut microbial communities collected by scraping and swabbing in a fish model: a comprehensive guide to promote non-lethal procedures for gut microbial studies

“…The fast-growing interest in the gut microbiota has made possible to discern the specific functionality of certain bacteria regarding their host, unraveling some bacterial taxa as possible markers of fish health and condition (3,4). In this sense, the manipulation of the fish microbiota has provided the aquaculture industry with many opportunities to improve production (5), such as the use of probiotics with growth-promoting effects and/or that improve feed efficiency (6), and the prevention and control of diseases in culture systems (7). Similarly, the study of intestinal microbiota in wild fish has also many applications, as it can be used for ecological monitoring of the ecosystem health (8,9), to understand the environmental impact of threats as climate change and human pollution (10), or to promote biodiversity conservation (11), among other applications.…”