This study investigated how Jerusalem artichoke powder (JAP) affected the growth, immunity, and gut microbiota of the sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus Selenka. Animals were fed diets containing antibiotic (1 ppm) or five levels of JAP (0, 2.5, 5, 10, and 15 g/kg). After the feeding trial, three sea cucumbers were sampled per tank to assay for immunity and gut microbiota composition. Dietary supplementation of 2.5 g/kg JAP significantly improved the growth rate and phenoloxidase activity of sea cucumbers. The diet containing 5 g/kg of JAP increased the survival rate and phagocytic activity, and the diet containing 15 g/kg of JAP increased the growth rate and total coelomocyte count of sea cucumbers. Moreover, exposure to antibiotics significantly changed the microbiota of sea cucumbers, while the JAP supplementation stimulated the development of microbiota communities, which could be more homogeneous. Supplementing the diets with 15 g/kg of JAP increased the growth of Rhodobacterales, and this may underlie the higher growth rate of sea cucumbers in this treatment. Considered together, our results suggest that supplementing the diet of sea cucumber with JAP may be beneficial for nonantibiotic farming of sea cucumber.

中文翻译：

---

菊芋粉对海参生长性能，非特异性免疫和胃肠道菌群的影响

这项研究调查了菊芋粉（JAP）如何影响海参（Apostichopus japonicus Selenka）的生长，免疫力和肠道菌群。给动物饲喂含有抗生素（1 ppm）或五种JAP水平（0、2.5、5、10和15 g / kg）的饮食。喂食试验后，每个储罐采样三个海参，以测定免疫力和肠道菌群组成。膳食补充2.5 g / kg JAP可显着提高海参的生长速度和酚氧化酶活性。含5 g / kg的JAP的日粮可提高海参的存活率和吞噬活性，而含15 g / kg的JAP的日粮可提高海参的生长速率和总粒细胞计数。此外，暴露于抗生素显着改变了海参的微生物群，而补充JAP刺激了微生物群的发展，这可能更加均匀。在日粮中添加15 g / kg的JAP可以增加日粮的生长。红细菌，并且这可能是该处理中海参较高生长速率的基础。综合考虑，我们的结果表明，用JAP补充海参饮食可能有益于海参的非抗生素养殖。