Photoperiod Manipulation Affects Transcriptional Profile of Genes Related to Lipid Metabolism and Apoptosis in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Larvae: Potential Roles of Gut Microbiota

Gut microbiota plays a fundamental role in maintaining host’s health by controlling a wide range of physiological processes. Administration of probiotics and manipulation of photoperiod have been suggested as modulators of microbial composition and are currently undergoing an extensive research in aquaculture as a way to improve health and quality of harvested fish. However, our understanding regarding their effects on physiological processes is still limited. In the present study we investigated whether manipulation of photoperiod and/or probiotic administration was able to alter microbial composition in zebrafish larvae at hatching stage. Our findings show that probiotic does not elicit effects while photoperiod manipulation has a significant impact on microbiota composition. Moreover, we successfully predicted lipid biosynthesis and apoptosis to be modulated by microbial communities undergoing continuous darkness. Interestingly, expression levels of caspase 3 gene (casp3) and lipid-related genes (hnf4a, npc1l1, pparγ, srebf1, agpat4 and fitm2) were found to be significantly overexpressed in dark-exposed larvae, suggesting an increase in the occurrence of apoptotic processes and a lipid metabolism impairment, respectively (p < 0.05). Our results provide the evidence that microbial communities in zebrafish at early life stages are not modulated by a short administration of probiotics and highlight the significant effect that dark photoperiod elicits on zebrafish microbiota and potentially on health.