Changes of Intestinal Microbiota and Liver Metabolomics in Yellow Catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) Before and After Rice Flowering in Rice-fish symbiosis farmed mode (RFFM)

Rui Cheng¹Zhuoqi Ying²Yang Yang¹Chongying Zhang³Wei Zhou⁴Zhiming Zhang¹Huiping Ding⁵ya Zhou^3*Chi Zhang^5*

• ¹Key Laboratory of Ecological Impacts of Hydraulic-Projects and Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystem of Ministry of Water Resources, Institute of Hydroecology, MWR &CAS,, Wuhan, Hebei Province, China
• ²Hubei Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, School of Animal Science and Nutritional Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wu Han, China
• ³Chongqing Three Gorges Vocational College, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, China
• ⁴Agricultural Technology and Machinery Extension Center of Wanzhou District, Chongqing., China
• ⁵College of Animal Science and Nutritional Engineering, Wuhan Polytechnic University, Wuhan, China

This study analyzed the intestinal microbiota and liver metabolomics in yellow catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) before and after rice flowering in rice-fish symbiosis farmed mode (RFFM). our study demonstrates that in the rice-fish symbiosis farming model (RFFM), the gut microbiota of yellow catfish improved significantly after rice flowering. The dominant bacterial genera in the gut microbiota after-flowering were Brevundimonas, Oxyphotobacteria_unclassified, and Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1. Hepatic metabolism also underwent substantial changes, with lipid metabolism downregulated and amino acid metabolism upregulated, likely as an adaptive response to environmental shifts in the rice paddy ecosystem. Notably, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1 played a key role in mediating hepatic metabolic adjustments, highlighting its potential influence on metabolic regulation in yellow catfish under the RFFM. These findings provide new insights into the development of host-derived probiotics for aquaculture.