Effects of water ammonia nitrogen on hemolymph and intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei

Abstract

Ammonia stress was detrimental to shrimp, but how water ammonia nitrogen (ammonia-N) influences the shrimp’s health remains unclear. Thus, this study was designed to investigate the effects of water ammonia-N on hemolymph ammonia-N concentration, hepatopancreas structure, and the intestinal microbiota of Litopenaeus vannamei with four experiments. We found that the concentration of ammonia-N in shrimp hemolymph was significantly higher than that in pond water, indicating that water ammonia-N stimulates the accumulation of hemolymph ammonia-N. Results also indicated that the hemolymph ammonia-N accumulation would disrupt the hepatopancreas structure and alter the intestinal microbial composition. The concentration of hemolymph ammonia-N and severity of hepatopancreas damage positively correlated with water ammonia-N concentration. However, though the diversity of intestinal microbiota was varied by ammonia-N, there were no significant differences between groups, suggesting that the variation was relatively minimal. Furthermore, returning shrimp to pristine water after ammonia-N exposure could reduce the hemolymph ammonia-N concentration and the mortality rate. This study provides evidence of temporal variations in hemolymph ammonia-N concentration, hepatopancreatic structure, and intestinal microbiota under different water ammonia-N levels, which might shed insights into ecological cognition on scientific management of shrimp culture and microecological prevention of shrimp health.

Keywords

Litopenaeus vannamei / Ammonia nitrogen / Hemolymph / Hepatopancreas / Intestinal microbiota

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Funding

Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Zhuhai)(SML2021SP203); Key research and development projects in Guangdong Province(2021B0202040001); China-ASEAN Maritime Cooperation Fund(No. GDOE (2019) A21); Earmarked Fund for China Agriculture Research System(CARS-48); Project of Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agricultural Science and Technology(2021TDQD004)