Bacillus as an aquaculture friendly microbe

• DOI: 10.1007/s10499-020-00630-0
• Publication Date: 2021-01-09T14:00:45Z
• Authors: Greeshma James; Bini C. Das; Seena Jose; Rejish Kumar V.J
• Keywords: Bacillus (shape); Quorum Quenching; Detritus; Autoinducer; Vibrio harveyi

Bacillus species are Gram-positive, endospore-forming bacteria having a vital role in the sustainable aquaculture production. Bacillus as gut probiotic significantly enhances growth, immune response, and disease resistance in several aquatic cultured organisms. The supplementation of Bacillus as pond probiotics or bioremediator aids to improve water quality by degrading the organic detritus and reducing the nitrogenous waste. Several species of Bacillus also act as quorum-quenching bacteria that can degrade AHL (N-acyl homoserine lactones), which is responsible for the expression of virulence factor mediated by quorum sensing in several aquatic Gram-negative bacterial pathogens. This article reviews the application and mode of action of Bacillus as probiotic, bioremediator, bioaugmenter, and quorum-quenching bacteria in aquaculture. The review, further discusses the modes of delivery of Bacillus, its interaction with other beneficial microbes, and its integration into various aquaculture systems such as recirculating aquaculture system (RAS), biofloc, and aquaponics.