Effects of the diet enrichment with β-glucan, sodium salt of butyric acid and vitamins on growth parameters and the profile of the gut microbiome of juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus)

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of the addition of active substances, i.e., β-glucan, sodium butyrate and vitamins (C, A, D3, E, K) to the diet of juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) on growth parameters and the intestinal microbiome. For this purpose, a four-week rearing of juveniles African catfish in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) under controlled conditions at 25°C was conducted. The fish were fed commercial feed (control group - C), which was enriched with various levels of sodium butyrate and β-glucan (FQV1 – FQV4). After the experiment, growth parameters such as weight gain (WG; g), length gain (LG; cm), specific growth rate (SGR; % d−1), condition factor (K) survival rate (SR; %) and cannibalism factor (CF; %) were determined. The profile of the intestinal microbiome was also determined using Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) based on the analysis of the 16 S rRNA subunit. The obtained results indicated that feed supplementation with active substances in appropriate doses had a positive effect on the growth parameters of tested fish. Compared to the control group, statistically significant differences were obtained in WG (C - 7.62 g; FQV3 - FQV1 respectively 12.2–16.65 g), in WL (C - 6.23 cm; FQV3 - FQV1 respectively 7.59–8.74 cm), in SGR (C - 4.7%/d; FQV3 – V1 respectively 12.20 – 16.65 g), in K (C – 0.76; V3 – FQV4 respectively 0.80 – 0.84) (P <0.05). In addition, the control group had the highest value of CF (8.0%) compared to the research groups (P <0.05). The values of α-diversity metrics did not show statistically significant differences. However, the number of unique amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) in research groups confirmed that enriching the diet with the active substances increases the biodiversity of intestinal microbiome (C - 203; FQV4 - 373). In research groups and the control group, Firmicutes and Proteobacteria dominated, additionally, an increased number of beneficial lactic acid bacteria (LAB) of the Lactococcus and Bacillus genus was observed, while the number of potentially pathogenic bacteria of the Candidatus genus was reduced (P <0.05). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) determining β-diversity showed that the FQV3 was characterized by varied species composition compared to the other groups. The obtained results showed that a carefully selected composition of active ingredients used in the diet of juvenile African catfish has a beneficial effect on the profile and biodiversity of the intestinal microbiome, which indirectly improves resistance to infections and increases breeding indicators.