The Effects of Dietary Yeast Culture or Short‐chain Fructo‐oligosaccharides on the Intestinal Autochthonous Bacterial Communities in Juvenile Hybrid Tilapia,<i>Oreochromis niloticus</i>♀×<i>Oreochromis aureus</i>♂

Abstract

Abstract The effects of dietary yeast culture (YC) or short‐chain fructo‐oligosaccharides (FOS) on intestinal autochthonous bacterial communities in juvenile hybrid tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus ♀× Oreochromis aureus ♂ were studied by 16S rDNA denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Ninety Tilapias in tanks (10 fish per tank) were randomly and equally divided into three groups. At the end of an 8‐wk feeding period of CK (the control treatment), YC (3 g/kg), or FOS (1 g/kg), autochthonous gut bacteria were analyzed in intestinal samples of all fish in each tank of a recirculating aquaculture system. The clear differences in the banding patterns indicated the obvious effects of dietary prebiotics on intestinal communities in hybrid tilapia. Higher variation was detected within the dietary YC group. This difference might be due to the effects of certain immune‐stimulating agents in YC on the immunity response of hybrid tilapia. It was concluded that dietary prebiotics, YC, and FOS obviously affected the intestinal bacterial community in hybrid tilapia with different patterns for different kinds.