Recent progress in the understanding of the gut microbiota of marine fishes

Abstract

As the significance of the gut microbiota has become increasingly realized, a large number of related studies have emerged. With respect to the gut microbial composition of fish, the predominant gut microbes and core gut microbiota have been reported by many researchers. Our understanding of fish gut microbiota, especially its functional roles, has fallen far behind that of terrestrial vertebrates, although previous studies using gnotobiotic zebrafish models have revealed that the gut microbiota performs a significant role in gut development, nutrient metabolism and immune responses. Given that environmental factors of marine habitats are very different from those of freshwater habitats, a distinct difference may exist in the gut microbiota between freshwater and marine fish. Therefore, this review aims to address the advances in marine fish gut microbiota in terms of methodologies, the gut microbial composition, and gnotobiotic models of marine fish, the important factors (host genotype and three environmental factors: temperature, salinity and diet) that drive marine fish gut microbiota, and significant roles of the gut microbiota in marine fish.