Pavlos Makridis

Bacterial communities associated with fish larvae are highly influenced by the microbiota of live prey used as feed (rotifers or Artemia), generally dominated by bacterial strains with a low degree of specialization and high growth rates, (e.g., Vibrionaceae), which can be detrimental to larvae. Co-cultivation of microalgae used in the enrichment of Artemia (e.g., Phaeodactylum tricornutum, or Chlorella minutissima) with Vibrio-antagonistic probiotics belonging to the Roseobacter clade bacteria (e.g., Phaeobacter spp. or Ruegeria spp.) was studied. The introduction of the probiotics did not affect microalgae growth or significantly modify the composition of bacterial communities associated with both microalgae, as revealed by DGGE analysis. The inoculation of P. tricornutum with Ruegeria ALR6 allowed the maintenance of the probiotic in the scale-up of the microalgae cultures, both in axenic and non-axenic conditions. Using Ruegeria-inoculated P. tricornutum cultures in the enrichment of Artemia reduced the total Vibrionaceae count in Artemia by 2 Log units, therefore preventing the introduction of opportunistic or pathogenic bacteria to fish larvae fed with them.