Bacterial 16S rRNA and eukaryotic 18S rRNA amplicon sequencing of commercial shrimp probiotics from Bangladesh and India

Probiotics are used widely in shrimp aquaculture to improve growth and prevent disease; however, their safety and efficacy remains largely unknown. Shrimp aquaculture may be vulnerable to the negative effects of unsafe and ineffective commercial products, such as the transfer of shrimp and human pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. Shrimp health may be negatively affected by the use of these products, potentially leading to crop yield losses and directly impacting food security. A sustainable shrimp aquaculture industry needs to ensure inputs such as probiotics are free from microbiological hazards such as pathogens, genetic elements of concern and species that unfavourably change the ecology of the culture environment and wider ecosystem. Here, we used 16S amplicon sequencing to identify the bacterial genera present in commercial shrimp probiotics and assess this against their listed product content.