Effects of dietary supplementation of a marine thermotolerant bacterium, Bacillus paralicheniformis SO-1, on growth performance and immune responses of Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus

This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of thermotolerant bacterium on growth and immune responses of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Bacillus paralicheniformis SO-1 was isolated from marine environments and incorporated into four isonitrogenous (300g/kg crude protein; cp) and isocaloric (18 MJ/kg) diets at four concentrations: 0, 5, 10 and 20 g/kg diet. Each diet was fed to triplicate groups of Nile tilapia (41.5 +/- 0.5 g average weight) at a daily rate of 3% of their biomass, three times a day for 50 days. At the end of the feeding trial, the growth rates, feed utilization efficiency (feed conversion ratio, protein efficiency ratio, protein productive value), digestive enzymes (protease, amylase and lipase) activities, immunological response (serum lysozyme activity, phagocytic activity, respiratory burst and superoxide dismutase activity) and the expression of immune-related genes [interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interleukin-12 (IL-12)] were determined. Growth rates, digestive enzymes activities and immunological parameters were significantly improved (p < 0.05) with increasing supplemental SO-1 up to 10 g/kg. However, further increase in bacterial concentration to 20 g/kg lead to significant decline in fish performance and immune response (p < 0.05). The expression of IL-1, IL-4 and IL-12 genes was significantly up-regulated (p < 0.05) in the liver of Nile tilapia fed SO-1-treated diets. This study clearly demonstrated that B. paralicheniformis SO-1 could be considered as an efficient growth promoter and immune-stimulating probiotic for farmed Nile tilapia.