Dietary supplementation with autochthonous Bacillus cereus improves growth performance and survival in tambaqui Colossoma macropomum

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with the autochthonous probiotic bacteria Bacillus cereus on growth performance, haematological parameters and survival of tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). Tambaqui fingerlings (0.94 ± 0.02 g) were fed for 120 days the following diets: basal (without probiotic) and three supplemented diets (4.2 × 10⁴, 3.9 × 10⁶ and 3.3 × 10⁸ CFU/g). Growth performance and haematological parameters were evaluated every 30 days. Thereafter, fish were challenged against Aeromonas hydrophila and survival was evaluated. Probiotic B. cereus improved weight and length gains (p < 0.05), and increased neutrophils and thrombocyte counts (p < 0.05) in tambaqui supplemented with 3.9 × 10⁶ CFU/g diet. Challenged fish fed unsupplemented diet presented the lowest survival rate (33.4%) while fish fed diets supplemented at 4.2 × 10⁴, 3.9 × 10⁶ and 3.3 × 10⁸ CFU/g B. cereus had 88.8%, 80.5% and 80.5% relative per cent survival respectively. These results demonstrated that B. cereus supplemented as probiotics to C. macropomum for 120 days improved physiological and haematological responses, leading to enhanced survival in this fish species.     

Monitoring of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Francisella noatunensis</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">orientalis</Emphasis> in farmed Nile tilapia (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oreochromis niloticus</Emphasis>) in Brazil

Francisella noatunensis orientalis is a bacterium that causes emerging bacteriosis in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in many parts of the world, including Brazil. It is a non-motile, Gram-negative, strictly aerobic, facultative intracellular coccobacillus. This species of bacteria is responsible for low to high mortality in fish farms, causing economic losses for fish farmers. This study aimed to detect the presence of F. noatunensis orientalis using qPCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) and to describe lesions caused by the bacterium in O. niloticus in Brazilian aquaculture. For this purpose, 360 fish from six fish farms (30 per farm) were sampled at two time points (n = 180 per sampling). Necropsies and histopathology were performed for lesion observation, in addition to qPCR and sequencing for detection and identification of Francisella species. Environmental data were collected using a multiparameter sonde YSI EXO2. All measured limnological variables were within the optimum range for cultivation of Nile tilapia. The major lesions present were melanization of the skin, splenomegaly, granulomas, and inflammatory cell responses. The prevalence of francisellosis varied from 0 to 86.66% between time periods and fish farms analyzed, and an outbreak was observed during the second sampling period. This study describes the prevalence of francisellosis in O. niloticus and reports that the lesions found are not exclusively associated with this bacterial disease.     

Mortality,hematology, and histopathology of common snook Centropomus undecimalis (Perciformes: Centropomidae) exposed to acute toxicity of ammonia

This study aimed to evaluate the tolerance of common snook Centropomus undecimalis larvae and juveniles exposed to acute concentrations of un-ionized ammonia for 96 h at 35g L^?1 salinity, after 24 h starvation. For that, 10 larvae (20.85 ± 1.46 mm) of 47 days post hatch (DPH) per experimental unit (1.5 L) were exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 0.65 ± 0.04, 1.29 ± 0.09, 2.59 ± 0.18, 3.88 ± 0.27, 5.17 ± 0.34, and 6.47 ± 0.43 mg L^?1 NH₃, in triplicates, at 26.72 ± 0.08°C, dissolved oxygen at 5.72 ± 0.10 mg L^?1 and pH 8.45 ± 0.06. During this period, no mortalities were observed. Another trial was performed with five juveniles (20.35 ± 6.10 g, 13.90 ± 1.75 cm) per experimental unit (60 L) exposed to 0.00 ± 0.00, 2.26 ± 0.07, 2.68 ± 0.11, 3.20 ± 0.13, 3.68 ± 0.17, and 4.27 ± 0.16 mg L^?1 NH₃, in triplicates, at 21.90 ± 0.76°C, dissolved oxygen at 6.27 ± 0.21 mg L^?1 and pH at 8.38 ± 0.04. Fish mortality increased as ammonia concentrations increased at each day, and LC₅₀ 96 h was 3.52 mg L^?1 NH₃. Larvae were less sensitive than juveniles, demonstrating that the environmental toxicity of ammonia to common snook is influenced by age. Sublethal exposition to ammonia caused histological damages in gills of common snook juveniles and variation on glucose levels, hematocrit, and red blood cells number, showing negative effects on fish homeostasis. Moreover, compared to other species, the common snook has great resistance to ammonia.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila suzukii</Emphasis> flight performance reduced by starvation but not affected by humidity

Drosophila suzukii is widely studied because of its status as a global pest of berries and soft fruits. Environmental conditions and access to food resources impact the physiology and fitness of D. suzukii; these factors could also affect dispersal. Flight mills are a convenient tool for measuring and comparing the flight performance of insects. In this study, two experiments examined the effects of diet and humidity on D. suzukii flight performance using custom-built flight mills, and a third experiment compared the energy reserves of D. suzukii flown or not flown on flight mills. Over all flight assays, the median flight distance and duration were 27.16 m and 2.37 min, respectively, and the mean flight velocity was 0.18 m/s. The maximum flight distance and duration by an individual were 1.75 km and 2.35 h, respectively. Drosophila suzukii provisioned with blossoms, fruits, or standard laboratory diets flew farther distances and longer durations than starved flies. While starvation was associated with reduced flight performance, there were no observed differences between diet types. It remains unclear whether D. suzukii consistently use lipids, glycogen, sugar, or another energy source for flight because tethered individuals may not have flown enough to deplete energy reserves. Humidity did not affect flight performance of D. suzukii within a?~?2 h test period. These data indicate that most D. suzukii are likely to remain within limited area (e.g., within a field) but that some individuals can disperse long distances (field to field spread).