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Article

Sex-Stratified Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Cultured Big-Belly Seahorses During a Mass Mortality Outbreak

by
Hangzhou Guo
1,2,
Zhibin Sun
1,*,
Huiyu Xiao
1,
Pengfei Yan
1,
Xin’an Wang
1,
Siqi Wang
1,
Annita Yong Seok-Kian
3 and
Aijun Ma
1,*
1
State Key Laboratory of Mariculture Biobreeding and Sustainable Goods, Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266071, China
2
Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
3
Higher Institution Centre of Excellence (HICoE), Institut Marin Borneo, University Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2026, 48(9), 936; https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48090936
Submission received: 14 August 2026 / Revised: 10 September 2026 / Accepted: 11 September 2026 / Published: 13 September 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environmental Stress and Toxicology in Aquaculture: A Molecular Perspective)
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Abstract

Mass mortality outbreaks threaten cultured big-belly seahorses (Hippocampus abdominalis), but gut microbial changes associated with disease and host sex remain unclear. We analyzed 36 seahorses from a single aquaculture system, classified as apparently normal males (NMHA), diseased males (EMHA), apparently normal females (NFMHA), and diseased females (EFMHA). Intestinal contents from three individuals were pooled per biological replicate, yielding three pooled replicates per group and 12 microbiome samples in total (effective n = 3 per group). The V3–V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene was sequenced, and ASVs were inferred using DADA2 in QIIME 2. α-diversity showed marginal overall group differences, whereas exploratory two-way ANOVA indicated effects of health status and Health × Sex interactions on observed ASVs, Shannon, and Simpson indices. Bray–Curtis PERMANOVA also detected significant effects of health status and the Health × Sex interaction on community structure. Pseudomonadota dominated all groups, while Vibrio was strongly enriched in diseased females, reaching 86.94 ± 13.03%. LEfSe identified Vibrio/Vibrionaceae as biomarkers of diseased females, whereas Arcobacteraceae and Litoreibacter characterized diseased males. PICRUSt2-based prediction suggested higher predicted representation of pathways related to signal transduction, membrane transport, biofilm formation, chemotaxis, and flagellar assembly in diseased groups. Overall, gut microbiota dysbiosis during the outbreak showed sex-stratified patterns, with pronounced Vibrio enrichment representing a prominent disease-associated microbial feature, particularly in females.
Keywords: Hippocampus abdominalis; gut microbiota; Vibrio; sex differences; mass mortality Hippocampus abdominalis; gut microbiota; Vibrio; sex differences; mass mortality
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MDPI and ACS Style

Guo, H.; Sun, Z.; Xiao, H.; Yan, P.; Wang, X.; Wang, S.; Yong Seok-Kian, A.; Ma, A. Sex-Stratified Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Cultured Big-Belly Seahorses During a Mass Mortality Outbreak. Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2026, 48, 936. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48090936

AMA Style

Guo H, Sun Z, Xiao H, Yan P, Wang X, Wang S, Yong Seok-Kian A, Ma A. Sex-Stratified Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Cultured Big-Belly Seahorses During a Mass Mortality Outbreak. Current Issues in Molecular Biology. 2026; 48(9):936. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48090936

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guo, Hangzhou, Zhibin Sun, Huiyu Xiao, Pengfei Yan, Xin’an Wang, Siqi Wang, Annita Yong Seok-Kian, and Aijun Ma. 2026. "Sex-Stratified Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Cultured Big-Belly Seahorses During a Mass Mortality Outbreak" Current Issues in Molecular Biology 48, no. 9: 936. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48090936

APA Style

Guo, H., Sun, Z., Xiao, H., Yan, P., Wang, X., Wang, S., Yong Seok-Kian, A., & Ma, A. (2026). Sex-Stratified Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis in Cultured Big-Belly Seahorses During a Mass Mortality Outbreak. Current Issues in Molecular Biology, 48(9), 936. https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48090936

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