Diet and Intestinal Microbiota of Fish

A special issue of Fishes (ISSN 2410-3888). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Feeding".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 November 2025) | Viewed by 266

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Key Laboratory for Feed Biotechnology of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: fish; gut microbiota; stress; nutritional regulation
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Guest Editor
China-Norway Joint Lab on Fish Gut Microbiota, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Interests: host-microbe interaction; probiotics; vaccine; resistance to disease

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Guest Editor
1. China-Norway Joint Lab on Fish Gut Microbiota, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
2 Tigray Agricultural Research Institute, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Interests: freshwater aquaculture; high energy diet; immunostimulants
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The intricate interplay between diet and intestinal microbiota in fish is a rapidly evolving field with profound implications for aquaculture productivity, ecological sustainability, and aquatic animal health. This Special Issue of Fishes will explore the dynamic relationships between dietary components, microbial communities, and host physiology in fish, emphasizing their roles in nutrient metabolism, immune regulation, and disease resistance. As aquaculture intensifies globally, understanding how diet shapes gut microbiota composition and function, and vice versa, is critical for optimizing feed efficiency and reducing environmental impacts. This Special Issue, “Diet and Intestinal Microbiota of Fish”, will address gaps in current research by integrating studies on species-specific microbiota adaptations, dietary interventions (e.g., probiotics, prebiotics), and ecological interactions within aquatic environments. Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Dietary modulation of gut microbiota diversity and stability, such as the effects of fishmeal alternatives or carbohydrate utilization mediated by key taxa including Cetobacterium;
  • Host–microbe metabolic cross-talk, including microbial contributions to lipid, carbohydrate, and amino acid metabolism;
  • Impacts of environmental stressors on diet-microbiota–host interactions;
  • Microbial biomarkers for health and disease, particularly in the context of antibiotic resistance and pathogen colonization;
  • Innovative methodologies, such as metagenomics and machine learning, to decode microbial community dynamics and functional pathways.

Dr. Qianwen Ding
Dr. Yuanyuan Yao
Dr. Tsegay Teame
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • fish gut microbiota
  • dietary modulation
  • host-microbe interaction
  • probiotics
  • aquaculture sustainability
  • microbial biomarkers
  • metagenomics
  • antibiotic resistance

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

14 pages, 2042 KB  
Article
Effects of Different Application Strategies of Copper-Loaded Montmorillonite on Growth, Intestinal Histology, and Rearing-Water Quality in Penaeus monodon
by Jieyi Wang, Yangyang Ding, Falin Zhou, Jianzhi Shi, Qibin Yang, Yundong Li, Jianhua Huang, Lishi Yang, Xueliang Sun and Song Jiang
Fishes 2026, 11(1), 63; https://doi.org/10.3390/fishes11010063 (registering DOI) - 18 Jan 2026
Abstract
Penaeus monodon is widely cultured in Asia; however, intensive farming practices often result in water-quality deterioration and compromised production performance. Copper-loaded montmorillonite (Cu-MMT) is a functional additive with adsorption and antimicrobial properties, yet the relative effectiveness of different application strategies remains insufficiently evaluated. [...] Read more.
Penaeus monodon is widely cultured in Asia; however, intensive farming practices often result in water-quality deterioration and compromised production performance. Copper-loaded montmorillonite (Cu-MMT) is a functional additive with adsorption and antimicrobial properties, yet the relative effectiveness of different application strategies remains insufficiently evaluated. In this study, 270 shrimp were assigned to three treatments: a control group (KZ), water application of Cu-MMT (PZ), and dietary inclusion of Cu-MMT (BZ). Juvenile Penaeus monodon with an initial body weight of 3.25 ± 0.15 g were used in the trial. Growth performance, intestinal histology, and rearing-water quality were assessed over a 56-day culture period. Shrimp in the BZ group exhibited a significantly higher weight gain rate (311.88 ± 38.17%) and survival rate (88.04%) than those in the KZ (247.45 ± 32.82%; 76.67%) and PZ (286.49 ± 29.78%; 83.33%) groups (p < 0.05). Intestinal histological observations revealed treatment-associated differences in morphology, with more pronounced intestinal enlargement observed in the PZ group, whereas the BZ group exhibited a more moderate intestinal architecture. Water-quality analyses showed that dietary Cu-MMT supplementation was associated with higher dissolved oxygen levels and lower concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen, sulfide, and dissolved iron, particularly during the later stages of the experiment. Overall, these results indicate that dietary inclusion of Cu-MMT provides more favorable outcomes than water application in improving growth performance and rearing-water quality in P. monodon culture under the experimental conditions tested. These findings highlight the importance of application strategy when evaluating functional additives in shrimp aquaculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Diet and Intestinal Microbiota of Fish)
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