Beneficial effects of probiotics on Litopenaeus vannamei growth and immune function via the recruitment of gut Rhodobacteraceae symbionts.

Abstract

Probiotic supplementation enhances the abundance of gut-associated Rhodobacteraceae species, critical symbionts contributing to the health and physiological fitness of Litopenaeus vannamei. Understanding the role of Rhodobacteraceae in shaping the shrimp gut microbiota is essential for optimizing probiotic application. This study investigated whether probiotics benefit shrimp health and fitness via the recruitment of Rhodobacteraceae commensals in the gut. Probiotic supplementation significantly enhanced feed conversion efficiency, digestive enzyme activity, and immune responses, thereby promoting shrimp growth. Additionally, probiotics induced pronounced shifts in gut microbial composition, enriched gut Rhodobacteraceae abundance, and reduced community variability, leading to a more stable gut microbiome. Network analysis revealed that the removal of Rhodobacteraceae nodes disrupted gut microbial connectivity more rapidly than the removal of non-Rhodobacteraceae nodes, indicating a disproportionate role of Rhodobacteraceae in maintaining network stability. Probiotic supplementation facilitated the migration of Rhodobacteraceae taxa from the aquatic environment to the shrimp gut while reinforcing deterministic selection in gut microbiota assembly. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that up-regulation of amino acid metabolism and NF-κB signaling pathways was positively correlated with Rhodobacteraceae abundance. These findings demonstrate that probiotic supplementation enriches key Rhodobacteraceae taxa, stabilizes gut microbial networks, and enhances host digestive and immune functions, ultimately improving shrimp growth performance. This study provides novel perspectives on the ecological and molecular mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of probiotics on shrimp fitness.