Replacing Antibiotics, Prof Munti Yuhana Creates Microbiotic Microcapsules to Control Fish and Shrimp Infections
Indonesia’s aquaculture industry faces a major dilemma. On the one hand, infectious diseases threaten the survival of farmed fish and shrimp. On the other hand, the use of antibiotics as a conventional solution creates new problems: antimicrobial resistance, harmful residues, and environmental pollution.
Responding to these challenges, Prof Munti Yuhana, Professor of the Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Science (FPIK) IPB University developed a synbiotic microcapsule innovation that can replace antibiotics to control infectious diseases in aquaculture.
“Probiotics help maintain the balance of gut microbiota, improve immune response and support growth. While prebiotics become a selective source of nutrients for beneficial microbes,” explained Prof Munti in the Press Conference of Pre Scientific Oration of Professor of IPB University online, Thursday (8/14).
Prof Munti’s innovation in the form of synbiotic microcapsule application in feed – a combination of probiotics and prebiotics – provides an extraordinary synergistic effect.
The combination is proven to provide immune enhancement, pathogen suppression, disruption of the quorum sensing communication system of pathogenic bacteria, reduction of tissue damage, and increased survival of aquaculture organisms.
“Synbiotics are effective against single and multi-pathogen infections, so they are important for healthy and sustainable aquaculture,” she explained.
However, large-scale production of probiotics faces obstacles such as contamination risk, viability stability, and limited shelf life. The solution lies in microencapsulation technology, including the spray drying method, which is able to maintain stable probiotic viability for several months.
Prof Munti explained that the application of synbiotic microcapsules (MS) in feed has been proven to increase the number of probiotics in the digestive tract of fish and shrimp. Next generation sequencing (NGS) molecular analysis shows MS increases immune gene expression and modulates gut microbiota.
“The results show an increase in diversity and abundance of phyla such as proteobacteria, bacteroidota, and actinobacteria, as well as an increase in beneficial genera such as Bacillus sp. and Weissella sp,” she explained.
MS application, he continued, is also proven to increase productivity and resistance to co-infection with Vibrio spp. and Infectious Myonecrosis Virus (IMNV). MS treatment provides the best growth and survival and suppresses pathogen populations. Meanwhile, the survival rate of control shrimp was very low.
“These results confirm MS as an effective and stable preventive strategy, even in poor environmental conditions,” she added.
Prof Munti is optimistic that nanotechnology-based encapsulated cell innovation has potential as a more effective feed strategy. The integration of the ‘omics’ approach and nanotechnology will strengthen the development of regenerative aquaculture that is evidence-based, adaptive, and sustainable. (dh) (IAAS/RWA)
