Working through the bugs: Application of gut microbiome analysis to prawn aquaculture to improve productivity

Abstract

The importance of the gut microbiome to health and wellbeing of humans and livestock is well understood, but this topic has only recently gained attention in aquaculture, particularly in prawn farming.
This project reviewed the current knowledge of the gut microbiome of farmed prawns and visited farms to establish how work in this area may benefit the local industry.
The review of recent literature found that:
• recent studies suggest that the gut microbiome probably plays as vital a role in farmed prawns as it does in other animals, with evidence emerging that a ‘normal’ microbiome exists.
• the prawn gut microbiome is however influenced both by feed and the environment- it is seeded by bacteria ingested with food and pond water.

Consultation with Queensland prawn farmers found that:
• there is widespread acceptance of the likely importance of the gut microbiome
• pond management strategies probably affect the bacterial microbiome of ponds, though the impact on the gut microbiome is unknown.

There is an opportunity to develop a collaborative RD&E project focussed on improving productivity of prawn farms using practices that manipulate the gut microbiome.