Our yeast derivatives offer new potential for shrimp farming

Metagenomic data brings new insights into mechanisms and management of white feces syndrome in shrimp

Lallemand Animal Nutrition shared innovative metagenomics and performance results on the impact of the shrimp gut microbiota during white feces syndrome (WFS) challenges. These results were presented at the Asian-Pacific Aquaculture 2019 Conference in Chennai, India, and showed new potential benefits of yeast derivatives for shrimp farming.

WFS remains a widespread concern for the shrimp farming sector and causes severe economic losses across Asia. A trial was conducted in partnership with Dr Loc Tran from ShrimpVet Laboratory in HoChiMinh City, Vietnam, on juvenile shrimp challenged with WFS.

Eric Leclercq, PhD, Aquaculture Technical Support and RnD Manager for Lallemand Animal Nutrition explains:

“We have already shown very interesting benefits to shrimp defenses when using our innovative multi-strain yeast fraction solution. With Dr. Tran, we wanted to explore the mode of action of this natural solution in the context of WFS. We looked at the yeast derivative’s effects on shrimp performance and gut histopathological damages, and also on gut microbiota thanks to the latest techniques in metagenomics studies.”

Reduced impact of WFS

The innovative study showed benefits of the yeast derivative in:

• Preserving or improving performance despite challenging conditions
• Lowering the severity of the WFS outbreak, with less tissue damage in the gastrointestinal tract
• Reshaping of the gut microbiota by WFS is mitigated by the yeast product. In particular, the relative abundance of Vibrio sp. is decreased, which seems to reduce the severity and impact of the disease.

Leclercq concluded:

“The shift in intestinal microbiota documented here suggests a role of the commensal microbiota in the pathogenesis of the WFS. The study hints towards the potential of reinforcing the intestinal microbiota equilibrium against Vibrio sp.-induced disruption that could mediate WFS.”