Probiotics in shrimp aquaculture: avenues and challenges

As an alternative strategy to antibiotic use in aquatic disease management, probiotics have recently attracted extensive attention in aquaculture. However, the use of terrestrial bacterial species as probiotics for aquaculture has had limited success, as bacterial strain characteristics are dependent upon the environment in which they thrive. Therefore, isolating potential probiotic bacteria from the marine environment in which they grow optimally is a better approach. Bacteria that have been used successfully as probiotics belong to the genus Vibrio and Bacillus, and the species Thalassobacter utilis. Most researchers have isolated these probiotic strains from shrimp culture water, or from the intestine of different penaeid species. The use of probiotic bacteria, based on the principle of competitive exclusion, and the use of immunostimulants are two of the most promising preventive methods developed in the fight against diseases during the last few years. It also noticed that probiotic bacteria could produce some digestive enzymes, which might improve the digestion of shrimp, thus enhancing the ability of stress resistance and health of the shrimp. However, the probiotics in aquatic environment remain to be a controversial concept, as there was no authentic evidence / real environment demonstrations on the successful use of probiotics and their mechanisms of action in vivo. The present review highlights the potential sources of probiotics, mechanism of action, diversity of probiotic microbes and challenges of probiotic usage in shrimp aquaculture.