EFFECTS OF DIETARY PROBIOTICS ON THE GROWTH AND IMMUNITY OF TOR

TAMBROIDES : A MOLECULAR APPROACH WITH EMPHASIS ON GENE

EXPRESSION PROFILES
Li Lian Wong*, Nguyen Thi Mai, Nursyafiqah Zahidah Azahar, Zulaikha Mat Deris and
Norazimah Yusof
School of Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu
Email: lilian@umt.edu.my
Malaysian mahseer (Tor tambroides) has significant aesthetic and economic value as food and
ornamental fish. The natural population of T. tambroides is currently suffering a dramatic decline
in population size due to over-exploitation and environmental degradation. Due to the reduced
population size and high market demand, artificial breeding program of this species have been
developed for both conservation and aquaculture purposes. However, the growth rate of T.
tambroides is highly reduced in captive breeding condition, and could only be improved by
administration of expensive high protein diet. To reduce the total cost of aquaculture production,
beneficial dietary supplements such as probiotics could be used as promising alternatives for
viable farming of this species. Probiotics have been included in fish diet for numerous benefits
which include enhancing the growth and improving disease resistance of the cultured species. In
this study, we set out to determine whether addition of commercial probiotics (Bacillus subtilis)
in the 30-day diet would improve the growth rate and immunity levels of T. tambroides.
Measures of body weight and standard length were performed to assess juveniles growth. The
immunity level and growth rate were observed through comparison of molecular responses
following probiotics administration in control diet and probiotic supplemented diet. Insulin-like
growth factor (Igf) gene was chosen as growth marker, while Heat-shock protein 70 (Hsp70) and
Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were selected as immune-related markers. We observed
significant increase in the body weight of juvenile fish treated with probiotic supplemented diet,
and the growth rate improvement was further proved by a significant 1.2 fold increase in the Igf
gene expression level. However, there was no significant difference in the expression levels for
both Hsp70 and GPX genes between control and probiotic treated groups. This data was resulted
from the absence of challenge test with external stressors such as pathogenic infection, poor
water quality and extreme temperature to induce the immunity genes expression. Overall, this
preliminary study suggests a potent effect on the growth of juvenile T. tambroides, which
provides primary insight into molecular entry path to investigate probiotic mechanisms
responsible for growth enhancement of this species. With appropriate stress inducers
incorporated into the experimental challenge test in our next study, we anticipate to prove the
efficiency of dietary probiotics in regulating immune-related genes in T. tambroides.