Aquaculture is the food production sector growing fastest in last years, but infectious diseases are an important constraint for its advance. The inclusion of immunostimulants in fish feeds (functional diets) is one of the main strategies to achieve sustainable aquatic cultures. Since butyric acid and butyrate may exert a positive effect on fish gut health, they appear as promising additives in fish feeds (Gao et al., 2011). The present study aimed to analyze the effects of sodium butyrate feed supplementation upon the composition of the intestinal microbiota (IM) and the innate immune response of gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), as well as the protection against photobacteriosis, a disease caused by the bacterium Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida (Pdp) (Toranzo et al., 2005).

This research was partially funded by ARRAINA EU Project (KBBE-2011-288925) and REVIDPAQUA project (ISIC/2012/003) from the Generalitat Valenciana.

Comunicación presentada en el Aquaculture Europe 2014, celebrado en Donostia-San Sebastián, España, del 14 al 17 de octubre de 2014

Peer Reviewed