Exogenous protease supplementation in high- and low-fishmeal diets for Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei): Comparative effect on growth, immunity, nutrient digestibility and gut health
The present study evaluated the effects of exogenous protease supplementation in low- and high-fishmeal (FM) diets on growth performance, feed utilization, innate immunity, digestive enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility, gut microbiota and intestinal morphology of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus va...
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| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2025-09-01
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| Series: | Animal Nutrition |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405654525000551 |
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| Summary: | The present study evaluated the effects of exogenous protease supplementation in low- and high-fishmeal (FM) diets on growth performance, feed utilization, innate immunity, digestive enzyme activity, nutrient digestibility, gut microbiota and intestinal morphology of Pacific white shrimp (Penaeus vannamei). A 2 × 3 factorial experiment was designed with two dietary FM levels (200 g/kg, positive control [PC]; and 100 g/kg, negative control [NC]) and three protease levels (0, 400 and 800 mg/kg) to obtain six experimental diets designated as PC, PC400, PC800, NC, NC400, and NC800. Six replicate groups of 30 shrimp (initial weight 0.30 ± 0.01 g) were fed the diets for 8 wk. Protease supplementation significantly improved (P < 0.001) growth performance and feed utilization efficiency in both high- and low-FM diets. Innate immunity and antioxidant enzyme activities were significantly enhanced (P < 0.001) with increasing FM and protease levels. Furthermore, the inclusion of protease in low-FM diets significantly increased (P < 0.001) total hemocyte count and phagocytic, phenoloxidase, lysozyme and superoxide dismutase activities, reaching levels comparable to the PC group. Increasing FM and protease levels significantly upregulated (P < 0.001) the expression of proPO, crustin, TGF-β, LvIKK-β and TLR3 genes, while downregulating TNF-α. The inclusion of protease in the low FM diet significantly increased (P < 0.05) digestive enzyme activities, intestinal villi length, whole-body amino acid composition and nutrient digestibility to the levels comparable to the PC group. The relative abundance of heterotrophic marine bacteria (P < 0.001), Gram-positive bacteria (P = 0.034) and Lactobacilli spp. (P < 0.001) in the gut significantly increased (P < 0.05) with increasing protease levels, while an inverse relationship was observed for Vibrio spp. (P < 0.001). These results demonstrated that protease supplementation in either the high- or low-FM diets could improve shrimp growth, feed utilization efficiency, immunity, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology and gut microbiome. Notably, supplementing the low-FM diet with 800 mg/kg protease improved shrimp performance, reaching levels comparable to those obtained with the PC diet. |
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| ISSN: | 2405-6545 |