Goal of this research is to explore the effects of graded dietary levels of hydrolysed feather meal (HFM) protein as an alternative of fishmeal protein on Pengze crucian carp (Carassius auratus var. Pengze). Five isonitrogenous (35% crude protein) diets were formulated as Control diet and four other diets F15, F30, F45 and F60 wherein 15%, 30%, 45% and 60% fishmeal protein replaced by HFM protein fed for 70 days. The results showed that fish growth was unaffected up to 45% fishmeal protein replacement. Dietary HFM protein could reduce the crude protein composition of body and further affect fillet quality through a significant increase in springiness, gumminess, chewiness and/or resilience. Activity of digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase and tryptase) increased as the fishmeal protein replacement increased, whereas a higher replacement level had negative impacts on absorptive capacity of intestine by decreasing its absorptive area, following by a reduction in concentration of lactate dehydrogenase, total cholesterol, high‐density lipoprotein, low‐density lipoprotein and ammonia in serum. Although intestinal antioxidant parameters were elevated by dietary HFM protein, the content of malondialdehyde in intestine was also positively associated with the protein replacement level. Overall, our results indicate that up to 45% of fishmeal protein could be replaced by HFM protein in diet without significant impact on the growth of Pengze crucian carp, whereas the crude protein content of whole body, fillet quality and oxidative status would significantly be affected when the replacement level of fishmeal protein reaches 30% together with a negative effect on the intestinal histology.

The intestinal microbiota is important for the nutrient metabolism of fish and is significantly influenced by the host’s diet. The effect of ryegrass and commercial diets on the intestinal microbiota of grass carp was compared in this study. In comparison to ryegrass, artificial feed significantly reduced the microbial diversity in the intestine, which was measured by a decrease in the observed OTUs, ACE, Shannon, and the InvSimpson index. Although grass carp fed with ryegrass and artificial feed shared a dominant phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria, the microbial composition was clearly distinguishable between the two groups. In grass carp fed with ryegrass, Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria predominated, whereas Bacilli was significantly higher in the artificial feed group due to an increase in Weissella and an unassigned Bacillales bacteria, as well as a significant increase in a potential pathogen: Aeromonas australiensis. Grass carp fed with ryegrass exhibited a more complex ecological network performed by the intestinal bacterial community, which was dominated by cooperative interactions; this was also observed in grass carp fed with artificial feed. Despite this, the increase in A. australiensis increased the competitive interaction within this ecological network, which contributed to the vulnerable perturbation of the intestinal microbiota. The alteration of the microbial composition through diet can further affect microbial function. The intestinal microbial function in grass carp fed with ryegrass was rich in amino acids and exhibited an increased energy metabolism in order to compensate for a low-nutrient diet intake, while the artificial feed elevated the microbial lipid metabolism through the promotion of its synthesis in the primary and secondary bile acids, together with a notable enhancement of fatty acid biosynthesis. These results indicated that diet can affect the homeostasis of the intestinal microbiota by altering the microbial composition and the interspecific interactions, whilst microbial function can respond to a variation in diet.

The phenomenon of intestinal dysfunction is widely observed in white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) culture, and β-1,3-glucan has been confirmed to be beneficial in intestinal health with a lack understanding of its underlying mechanism. Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria served as the predominant phyla inhabiting the intestine of white shrimp, whilst a significant variation in their proportion was recorded in shrimp fed with basal and β-1,3-glucan supplementation diets in this study. Dietary supplementation of β-1,3-glucan could dramatically increase the microbial diversity and affect microbial composition, concurrent with a notable reduction in the ratio of opportunistic pathogen Aeromonas, gram-negative microbes, from Gammaproteobacteria compared to the basal diet group. The benefits for microbial diversity and composition by β-1,3-glucan improved the homeostasis of intestinal microbiota through the increase of specialists’ number and inhibition of microbial competition caused by Aeromonas in ecological networks; afterward, the inhibition of Aeromonas by β-1,3-glucan diet dramatically suppressed microbial metabolism related to lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis, followed by a conspicuous decrease in the intestinal inflammatory response. The improvement of intestinal health referred to the elevation in intestinal immune and antioxidant capacity, ultimately contributing to the growth of shrimp fed β-1,3-glucan. These results suggested that β-1,3-glucan supplementation improved the intestinal health of white shrimp through the modulation of intestinal microbiota homeostasis, the suppression of intestinal inflammatory response, and the elevation of immune and antioxidant capacity, and subsequently promoted the growth of white shrimp.