Reprogramming Health in Aquaculture: The Nutrient–Microbiota–Immunity Nexus

Improving health and productivity in aquaculture demands a systems-level understanding of the dynamic interactions between dietary nutrient utilization, intermediary metabolism, gut microbiota and host immunity. Specific nutrients work as immunomodulators, influencing cytokine signaling, oxidative stress responses, and metabolic reprogramming. Simultaneously, the gut microbiota modulates nutrient metabolism and produces bioactive metabolites that regulate host immune functions. During immune activation, metabolic resources are reallocated, in a trade-off between growth and defense mechanisms, compromising feed efficiency and overall animal performance. Functional feeds that modulate both immune and microbial pathways offer a promising strategy to enhance disease resistance and productivity. However, mechanistic insights into the complex crosstalk among nutrients, microbiota and immunity in aquatic species remain limited.

This Research Topic aims to explore the integrative biology of nutritional immunology and host–microbiome interactions in aquatic animals. We seek to highlight how dietary strategies can shape health outcomes via direct immunonutritional effects and indirect microbiota–metabolism–immunity interactions.

We welcome original research, review articles, methodological papers, and perspectives covering, but not limited to, the following areas:

- Immunomodulatory effects of specific nutrients (e.g., amino acids, fatty acids, trace minerals, vitamins, and functional additives) on immune and metabolic responses.

- Nutrient-induced shifts in gut microbial composition and their systemic impact on host immunity and performance.

- Trade-offs in energy allocation between growth and immune activation in response to infection.

- Nutritional regulation of inflammatory responses: pro- vs anti-inflammatory pathways in aquatic species.

- Microbiota-mediated digestion, metabolite production, and their influence on host metabolic homeostasis and immune competence.

- Functional ingredients (probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, phytogenic) and their systemic effects beyond gut-level modulation.

- Integration of multi-omics tools to link diet composition with systemic metabolic and immune outcomes.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Review
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Aquaculture immunonutrition, gut microbiota, fish immunology, nutrient–immune interaction, functional feeds, microbiota–host crosstalk, metabolic reprogramming, growth performance, probiotics and prebiotics; disease resistance, multi-omics in Aquaculture

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.