The effects of oligofructose on growth performance, survival and autochthonous intestinal microbiota of beluga (Huso huso) juveniles

Preliminary experiments were undertaken to investigate the effects of oligofructose on beluga sturgeon (Huso huso) growth performance, survival and culturable autochthonous intestinal microbiota. Juveniles (20 g) were fed diets containing varying levels of oligofructose (10, 20 and 30 g kg−1) at 2–3% body weight per day for 7 weeks. Compared to the control group, no significant (P > 0.05) effect on growth performance was observed in fish fed diets supplemented with oligofructose at 10 and 20 g kg−1. However, compared to the 20 g kg−1 group, feeding oligofructose at 30 g kg−1 resulted in adverse effects on growth performance. Dietary supplementation of oligofructose at 20 g kg−1 significantly increased survival rate. Microbiological assessment indicated that the viable culturable autochthonous levels were not affected by dietary oligofructose. Although lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were not a dominant component of the endogenous autochthonous microbiota, LAB levels were significantly elevated in fish fed 20 g kg−1 dietary oligofructose. This elevated LAB population was able to persist for at least 1 week after reverting the prebiotic group back to a control diet. This study encourages further research on different aspects of oligofructose in sturgeon culture with clear emphasis on optimizing dosage levels.