Global study of probiotic effect on gut microbial communities in fish larvae

Our goal was to assess the long term effects of early microbial colonization on gut microbiota composition; in particular, how a probiotic strain of Bacillus subtilis will impact shaping gut microbiota diversity even after discontinuation of administration. Axenicaly raised tilapia larvae were either reared under conventional conditions in activated suspension tanks or first exposed to a single strain probiotic (B. subtilis) for one week, before conventionalized in activated suspension tanks. Water sampling was conducted on the same experimental days for comparisons.