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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2005, p. 4307-4317, Vol. 71, No. 8
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.8.4307-4317.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Bacteria on Artemia franciscana Cultured in Different Gnotobiotic Environments

Antonio Marques,^1* Thi Dinh,¹ Christos Ioakeimidis,¹ Geert Huys,² Jean Swings,^2,3 Willy Verstraete,⁴ Jean Dhont,¹ Patrick Sorgeloos,¹ and Peter Bossier¹

Laboratory of Aquaculture and Artemia Reference Center, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Rozier 44, 9000 Ghent, Belgium,¹ Laboratory of Microbiology,² BCCM/LMG Bacteria Collection, Faculty of Sciences, Ghent University, K. L. Ledeganckstraat 35, 9000 Ghent, Belgium,³ Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Ghent, Belgium⁴

Received 16 December 2004/ Accepted 10 March 2005

The use of probiotics is receiving considerable attention as an alternative approach to control microbiota in aquaculture farms, especially in hatching facilities. However, application with consistent results is hampered by insufficient information on their modes of action. To investigate whether dead bacteria (allowing investigation of their nutritional effect) or live bacteria (allowing evaluation of their probiotic effect) have any beneficial effect towards Artemia franciscana and, subsequently, if live bacteria have probiotic effects beyond the effects observed with dead bacteria, a model system was employed using gnotobiotic Artemia as a test organism. Nauplii were cultured in the presence of 10 bacterial strains combined with four different major axenic live feeds (two strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and two strains of Dunaliella tertiolecta) differing in their nutritional values. In combination with poor- and medium-quality live feeds, dead bacteria exerted a strong effect on Artemia survival but a rather weak or no effect on individual length and constituted a maximum of only 5.9% of the total ash-free dry weight supplied. These effects were reduced or even disappeared when medium- to good-quality major feed sources were used, possibly due to improvements in the health status of Artemia. Some probiotic bacteria, such as GR 8 (Cytophaga spp.), improved (not always significantly) the performance of nauplii beyond the effect observed with dead bacteria, independently of the feed supplied. The present approach can be an excellent system to study the exact mode of action of bacteria, especially if combined with challenge tests or other types of analysis (e.g., transcriptome and proteonomic analysis).

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of Aquaculture and Artemia Reference Center, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Rozier 44, 9000 Ghent, Belgium. Phone: 0032-92643754. Fax: 0032-92644193. E-mail: marques_am{at}yahoo.com.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2005, p. 4307-4317, Vol. 71, No. 8
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.8.4307-4317.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.