Seawater type shapes larval development, intestinal microbiota, and water quality in Macrobrachium rosenbergii

Giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) has high economic value and extensive aquaculture prospects, and larval quality critically restricts the sustainable development of the industry. To investigate the effects of different seawater sources on larval survival and growth, artificial seawater, natural seawater from Beibu Gulf (China) and East China Sea (China) were used as culture media to compare their influences on larval development and intestinal microbiota of M. rosenbergii. Significant intergroup differences were observed in cultivation outcomes. The larval emergence rate reached the maximum value of 52.1% in Group G (Beibu Gulf natural seawater), followed by 43.57% in Group R (artificial seawater), and only 36.4% in Group Z (East China Sea natural seawater), indicating distinct larval emergence gaps and a gradual decline in larval development efficiency. Intestinal microbiota analysis indicated that Pseudomonadota, Actinomycetota and Bacillota were the dominant phyla in all three groups. The relative abundance of Bacillota increased significantly in Group G on day 10. LEfSe analysis proved that this group owned the most stable microbial structure and highest community diversity, and pronounced structural fluctuations occurred in Group R, suggesting that intestinal microbial profiles can reflect larval developmental conditions. Correlation analysis showed that gut microbial composition was closely correlated with water environmental parameters, and microbial metabolic pathways were strongly associated with larval growth and development. This study indicates that natural seawater from the Beibu Gulf of China is more suitable for healthy larval cultivation of M. rosenbergii. Structural stability and diversity of intestinal microbiota are key factors affecting larval growth. The results offer theoretical references for optimizing artificial seawater formula and improving larval rearing efficiency.