The intestinal bacterial community and functional potential of Litopenaeus vannamei in the coastal areas of China

The intestinal bacterium is crucial to the healthy aquaculture of Litopenaeus vannamei (L. vannamei), and the coastal areas of China have been an important and concentrated area for that. Here, the different composition and structure, the key roles and functional potential of intestinal bacterial community of L. vannamei found in 12 Chinese coastal cities were evaluated, and the correlation between the intestinal bacterium and functional potential was investigated. In the intestine, the dominant bacterium mainly includes Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Tenericutes, Firmicutes and Actinobacteria, and the main functional potential were metabolism, genetic information processing and environmental information processing. Although the composition and structure of intestinal bacterial community, the pathogenic bacteria and spoilage organisms all varied from region to region, their functional potential were homeostatic, and were significant (P < 0.05) correlations with intestinal bacterium (at family level) at different degrees. Moreover, the correlation between intestinal bacterium and functional potential further suggested that the intestinal bacterial community of L. vannamei has sufficient functional redundancy to maintain its own health. These findings are intended to understand the differences in intestinal bacterial community of L. vannamei raised in different regions, and can provide a basis for healthy culture and disease management of L. vannamei aquaculture.