Probiotic Applications in Aquaculture Health Management

Probiotics—live microorganisms administered to host species—have emerged as a vital tool in sustainable aquaculture, mitigating reliance on antibiotics while promoting fish and shellfish welfare. Through modulation of the gut microbiome, probiotics enhance nutrient assimilation, stimulate host immune defences, out-compete pathogens and contribute to gut barrier integrity. Common probiotic taxa include lactic acid bacteria, Bacillus spp., and native commensals such as Cetobacterium, each selected for attributes such as enzyme secretion, production of antimicrobial compounds and immunostimulatory potential. Supplementation strategies range from encapsulated feed additives to water treatments, with dosing regimens tailored to life stage and environmental parameters. Beyond disease control, probiotics can improve growth performance, feed conversion ratios and stress resilience, addressing the dual challenge of expanding production whilst reducing environmental impact. The integration of high-throughput sequencing, metabolomics and functional assays has accelerated identification of core beneficial strains and clarified modes of action, laying the groundwork for precision probiotic formulations that align with the evolving demands of global aquaculture.

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Probiotic Applications in Aquaculture Health Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in probiotic applications in aquaculture health management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Probiotic: Live microorganism which, when administered in adequate amounts, confers a health benefit on the host.

Gut microbiome: The community of microorganisms inhabiting the gastrointestinal tract, influencing nutrition, immunity and disease resistance.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB): A group of Gram-positive bacteria that ferment carbohydrates to lactic acid, often used as probiotics due to antimicrobial and immunostimulatory effects.

Core microbiome: A subset of microbial taxa consistently present in a host or environment, considered essential for normal function or health.

Parasympathetic activation: Stimulation of the parasympathetic nervous system, here referring to a gut-brain signalling pathway modulated by microbial metabolites such as acetate.

References

1. Probiotics as Means of Diseases Control in Aquaculture, a Review of Current Knowledge and Future Perspectives. Frontiers in Microbiology (2018).
2. Probiotics, lactic acid bacteria and bacilli: interesting supplementation for aquaculture. Journal of Applied Microbiology (2020).
3. Core species and interactions prominent in fish-associated microbiome dynamics. Microbiome (2023).
4. Intestinal Cetobacterium and acetate modify glucose homeostasis via parasympathetic activation in zebrafish. Gut Microbes (2021).