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Selenium-enriched Bacillus subtilis reduces the effects of mercury-induced on inflammation and intestinal microbes in carp (Cyprinus carpio var. specularis)

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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that affects the health of humans and ecosystems. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element for many organisms including humans. Bacillus subtilis is one of the main probiotics used in aquaculture, and has a certain adsorption effect on heavy metals. The interaction between Hg and Se was rigorously studied, especially due to the observation of the protective effect of Se on Hg toxicity. The objective of this study was to research the effects of Hg, Se, and B. subtilis on inflammation and intestinal microbes in common carp. The common carp was exposed to Hg (0.03 mg/L), and 105 cfu/g Se-rich B. subtilis was added to the feed. After 30 days of feeding, samples were taken to evaluate the growth performance, serological response, inflammatory response, and intestinal microbial changes. In this study, when fish were exposed to Hg, the growth performance of the Se-rich B. subtilis plus 0.03 mg/L Hg fish group was lower than that of the control group and higher than 0.03 mg/L Hg; The levels of serum immunoglobulin M (IgM) and lysozyme (LZM) decreased, but after supplementation with Se-rich B. subtilis, the levels of LZM and IgM increased; Hg treatment significantly upregulated the mRNA expression of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and nuclear factor-kB (NF-κB P65), but downregulated the mRNA expression of interleukin-10 (IL-10), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IkBα). However, compared with the Hg group, the Se-rich B. subtilis plus Hg group can significantly increase the mRNA expression levels of IL-1β, IL-8, TNF-α, and NF-κB P65, but reduce the regulation of IL-10, TGF-β, and IkBα expression. Through the analysis of the microbiological, we found that the Hg group was mainly composed of Aeromonas sobria and Aeromonas hydrophila. However, in the Se-rich B. subtilis treatment group, we found that Aeromonas sobria was significantly less than the Hg group. Se-rich B. subtilis improves Hg-induced intestinal microbial changes, alleviates the abundance of Aeromonas, and alleviates the inflammation of the fish. The results of this study show that Se-rich B. subtilis dietary supplements can effectively protect common carp against Hg toxicity.

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Funding

The work was supported by the National Key R&D program of China (no.2020YFD0900400); Ministry of Agriculture Special Project: Investigation of Fishery Resources and Environment in Key Waters in Northeast China; Jilin Province Science and Technology Development Plan Project (20190201179JC); and Jilin Province Industrial Technology Research and Development Special Project (2019C059-5).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Xinchi Shang, Yue Zhang, Yuting Lu & Yuehong Li

  2. Daoli District, Heilongjiang River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Rd 43 27 Songfa, Harbin, 150070, China

    Xinchi Shang

  3. Jilin Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Changchun, China

    Bo Wang

  4. Key Lab of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Jilin, Jilin Agricultural Science and Technology University, 77 Hanlin Road, Jilin City, 132101, China

    Qingsong Sun

  5. State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, China

    Shaojun Liu

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  1. Xinchi Shang
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Contributions

The specific work of each author in this study was as follows: Xinchi Shang, perception and design; surgical operation; final approval of the version to be published; Bo Wang, participation in the whole work; drafting of the article; data analysis; Qingsong Sun: methodology. Yue Zhang, methodology, investigation, writing-original draft. Yuting Lu, investigation. Shaojun Liu, methodology. Yuehong Li, investigation, writing-original draft. Thank you and best regards.

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Correspondence to Yuehong Li.

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All experimental and animal handling procedures were conducted according to the research protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, Jilin Agricultural University, Jilin Province, China.

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Shang, X., Wang, B., Sun, Q. et al. Selenium-enriched Bacillus subtilis reduces the effects of mercury-induced on inflammation and intestinal microbes in carp (Cyprinus carpio var. specularis). Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 215–226 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01046-8

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