1Institute of Fisheries Post Graduate Studies, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Vaniyanchavadi, Chennai-603 103, Tamil Nadu, India
2State Referral Laboratory for Aquatic Animal Health, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Chennai-600 051, Tamil Nadu, India
3Bioinformatics Center, Madras Veterinary College, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Vepery, Chennai-600 007, Tamil Nadu, India
4ICAR-National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, PMFGR Centre, Kochi-682 018, Kerala, India
*Corresponding Author: S. Ganesh Babu, Institute of Fisheries Post Graduate Studies, Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Vaniyanchavadi, Chennai-603 103, Tamil Nadu, India, Email: ganeshbabusudarsanan@gmail.com
Online published on 30 October, 2023.
Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) infects P. vannamei and causes hepatopancreatic microsporidiasis associated with severe growth retardation in shrimp culture. The influence of EHP on the shrimp gut microbiota is poorly studied and this would be an interesting area to investigate. In this study, a metagenomic approach was followed to compare the overall species richness and abundance of the gut microbiota in healthy and EHP-infected P. vannamei.
Bacterial genomic DNA from gut samples of EHP-infected and healthy shrimps were profiled for the 16S rRNA gene, targeting the V3-V4 conserved region. Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), were identified and clustered together with a cutoff of 97% identity using UCLUST. The OTUs were then used for the computation of alpha diversity and beta diversity for each sample.
Gut samples from EHP-infected shrimp showed lower bacterial abundance throughout the family, class, order and genus levels. This research also highlights that EHP not only affects the hepatopancreas of the shrimp, but it also has the ability to affect the shrimp gut, predisposing them to other opportunistic infections.
Bacterial abundance, Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei, Operational taxonomic unit (OTUs), UCLUST
