Rabbitfish (Siganus oramin) gut microbiota description of farmed and wild specimens

Abstract

The gut microbiota participates in a wide range of biological processes of host, such as growth, feeding and immunity. The rabbitfish (Siganus oramin) is a popular table fish with good taste and rich nutrition. However, there are many potential unknown risks in artificial cultivation process. In this study, for the first time, we performed a 16 s rDNA sequencing analysis of gut microbiota in rabbitfish growing in different environments including marine cage, cement pond and wild environment. The most abundant phylum in all conditions was Proteobacteria, especially in individuals cultured in cement pond, and the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Fusobacteria and Bacteroidetes was obviously higher in marine-cage and wild individuals. At the genus level, Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia was the most abundant in rabbitfish cultivated in cement pond environment. Moreover, Lipid biosynthesis proteins, Carotenoid biosynthesis, Proximal tubule bicarbonate reclamation, Dioxin degradation and Xylene degradation pathways were found to be highly abundant in rabbitfish cultivated in cement pond, while Sphingolipid metabolism, Plant-pathogen interaction and Glycosphingolipid biosynthesis-globo series pathways were scarce. Interestingly, no obvious difference of gut microbiota was found between marine-cage and wild rabbitfish. All these results would lay a good foundation for developing a microbiota based strategy for artificial cultivation of rabbitfish.

Keywords

• Rabbitfish
• 16s rDNA
• Gut microbiota
• Artificial cultivation