Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2000 Dec;64(4):655-71.
doi: 10.1128/MMBR.64.4.655-671.2000.

Probiotic bacteria as biological control agents in aquaculture

L Verschuere  1 , G Rombaut, P Sorgeloos, W Verstraete
Affiliations
Review

Probiotic bacteria as biological control agents in aquaculture

L Verschuere et al. Microbiol Mol Biol Rev. 2000 Dec.

Abstract

There is an urgent need in aquaculture to develop microbial control strategies, since disease outbreaks are recognized as important constraints to aquaculture production and trade and since the development of antibiotic resistance has become a matter of growing concern. One of the alternatives to antimicrobials in disease control could be the use of probiotic bacteria as microbial control agents. This review describes the state of the art of probiotic research in the culture of fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and live food, with an evaluation of the results obtained so far. A new definition of probiotics, also applicable to aquatic environments, is proposed, and a detailed description is given of their possible modes of action, i.e., production of compounds that are inhibitory toward pathogens, competition with harmful microorganisms for nutrients and energy, competition with deleterious species for adhesion sites, enhancement of the immune response of the animal, improvement of water quality, and interaction with phytoplankton. A rationale is proposed for the multistep and multidisciplinary process required for the development of effective and safe probiotics for commercial application in aquaculture. Finally, directions for further research are discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Rationale for the research and development of probiotics as biological control agents in aquaculture.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Atlas R M, Bartha R. Microbial ecology—fundamentals and applications. Menlo Park, Calif: Benjamin/Cummings Science Publishing; 1997.
    1. Austin B, Baudet E, Stobie M. Inhibition of bacterial fish pathogens by Tetraselmis suecica. J Fish Dis. 1992;15:55–61.
    1. Austin B, Billaud A C. Inhibition of the fish pathogen, Serratia liquefaciens, by an antibiotic-producing isolate of Planococcus recovered from seawater. J Fish Dis. 1990;13:553–556.
    1. Austin B, Day J G. Inhibition of prawn pathogenic Vibrio sp. by a commercial spray-dried preparation of Tetraselmis suecica. Aquaculture. 1990;90:389–392.
    1. Austin B, Stuckey L F, Robertson P A W, Effendi I, Griffith D R W. A probiotic strain of Vibrio alginolyticus effective in reducing diseases caused by Aeromonas salmonicida, Vibrio anguillarum and Vibrio ordalii. J Fish Dis. 1995;18:93–96.

LinkOut - more resources