Probiotic-Based Nutritional Effects on Killifish Reproduction
Probiotic bacteria used as dietary additives seem to offer an attractive choice inducing overall health benefits to the host
organism. It is well known that reproduction, in all vertebrates, is regulated by the reproductive axis and that nutrition
affects reproductive events, from puberty to adult gametogenesis, in both sexes. Consequently, reproductive events are
very closely aligned with the nutrition. The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of dietary probiotic
administration on the marine teleost Fundulus heteroclitus and the effects of such broodstock dietary treatment on the
growth and survival of the new progeny. Lactobacillus rhamnosus IMC 501® was administered daily as a feed additive, at a
final concentration of 106
cfu ml-1
for 8 days. Gonadal growth (gonadosomatic index, GSI), fecundity, embryo survival and
hatching rate of larvae from broodstock fed probiotic-supplemented diets were analysed as well as the biometric
parameters (body weight, BW; total length, TL). The results demonstrated the beneficial effects of probiotics on the
reproductive performance of this marine teleost, as the GSI, fecundity and embryo survival were significantly enhanced by
probiotic administration. On the contrary, no effect on the hatching rate was shown. Moreover, broodstock probiotic-based
nutrition affected the early stages of larval development of the new progeny: in detail, a significantly higher TL was shown
throughout the experiment in the progeny derived from the probiotic (PRO) group bloodstocks compared to the control
(CTRL) group; mean BW was significantly higher only at 30 days post-hatching (dph) while no change was observed in terms
of larval survival. These results confirmed the positive effect of L. rhamnosus IMC 501® on the reproductive process of this
marine teleost, but further work is required to better understand the mechanisms by which probiotics act on the
reproductive axis as well as the nutritionally-/immunologically-mediated maternal effects on embryo and larval
development and growth.
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