Alterations of digestive enzyme activities, intestinal morphology and microbiota in juvenile paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, fed dietary probiotics

The effects of dietary supplementation of probiotics on digestive enzymes activities, intestinal morphology and microbiota in juvenile paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) were studied. A total of 400 fish were reared in two cages and fed with a basal diet (control group, CG) or diet supplemented with commercial probiotics (treatment group, TG) for 80 days. Enzymes activities analysis indicated that protease and α-amylase activities increased (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05) in TG. Light microscopy observation demonstrated the decrease of wall thickness and muscularis thickness in foregut (P < 0.01), the increase of those in hindgut (P < 0.05), the increase of folds height in foregut (P < 0.01) and midgut in TG (P < 0.05). DGGE results of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA confirmed that the richness and diversity of intestinal microbial species increased in TG. The similarity between the commercial bacteria product and intestinal microbiota of TG were higher than the microbiota from CG. The quantities of bacterium, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, present an increasing trend from foregut to hindgut both in two groups. To our knowledge, this is the first in vivo study to reveal the effect of dietary probiotics on intestinal digestive enzymes activities, morphology and microbiota in paddlefish.