Evaluation of Lactococcus lactis HNL12 combined with Schizochytrium limacinum algal meal in diets for humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis).

The humpback grouper (Cromileptes altivelis) is a commercially valuable species of the family Epinephelidae; however, its marketization suffers from slow growth speed, low survival rate, and various pathogenic diseases. Lactococcus lactis and Schizochytrium limacinum are commonly used as immunostimulants due to their health benefits for the aquatic organisms. In the present study, we assessed the effects of dietary supplementation with L. lactis HNL12 combined with S. limacinum algal meal on the growth performances, innate immune response, and disease resistance of C. altivelis against Vibrio harveyi. The results showed that fish fed with a combination diet of L. lactis and S. limacinum exhibited significantly higher final weight, percent weight gain, and specific growth rate compared with groups fed with them alone. A bacterial challenge experiment indicated that the group fed with the L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet achieved the highest relative percent of survival value (68.63%), suggesting that L. lactis and S. limacinum significantly improved the disease resistance against V. harveyi after a 4-week feeding trial. Moreover, the respiratory burst activity of macrophages of fish fed with a L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet was significantly higher than that of fish fed the control diet after 1, 2, and 3 weeks of feeding. The serum superoxide dismutase of fish fed with a L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet significantly increased compared to those fed the control diet after 1 and 2 weeks of feeding, while the serum alkaline phosphatase of fish fed with a L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet after 2 and 4 weeks was significantly increased, compared to the control group. The serum lysozyme activities of fish fed with a L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet significantly increased compared to the control group after 2 weeks of feeding. Furthermore, transcriptome sequencing of the C. altivelis head kidney was conducted to explore the immune-regulating effects of the L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet on C. altivelis. A total of 86,919 unigenes, annotated by at least one of the reference databases (Nr, Swiss-Prot, GO, COG, and KEGG), were assembly yielded by de novo transcriptome. In addition, 157 putative differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between the L. lactis combined with S. limacinum group and the control group. For pathway enrichment, the DEGs were categorized into nine KEGG pathways, which were mainly related to infective diseases, antigen processing and presentation, digestive system, and other immune system responses. The findings of this study suggest that the L. lactis combined with S. limacinum diet can induce positive effects on the growth, immunity, and disease resistance of C. altivelis against V. harveyi. This study expands our understanding of the synergistic combinations of probiotics and prebiotics in aquaculture.