Recently, concern over environmental and health effects of massive use of the antibiotics has let to growth of the bio-control agents application. Poly-&beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) is a natural polymer that can be depolymerized into water-soluble short-chain fatty acid monomers and acts as a microbial control agent. In this study, the effects of partially replacing the diet of Siberian sturgeon fingerlings with 2% and 5% PHB were investigated. Community level physiological profile (CLPP) was used to analyze anaerobic bacterial metabolic diversity in Siberian sturgeon fingerlings hindgut by using Biolog™ Ecoplate microplates. The results indicated that PHB increased metabolic activity in anaerobic bacteria in sturgeon hindgut. Also Lorenz curve and the Shannon index of Biolog™ Ecoplate data revealed that anaerobic metabolic potential of the bacterial community was different in the PHB-treated fishes as compared with the control situation.

Keywords: poly-β-hydroxybutyrate, metabolic diversity, siberian sturgeon, community level physiological profiles

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